German Bundesliga
2010-02-13 - Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Allianz Arena
Saturday, 13th February 2010 – kickoff 18:30
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich won the DFB Cup match against the lower side of Greuther Furth 6-2 but the match was not that easily won as the result shows. At the halftime the visitors had the 2-1 lead which they were holding it for about sixty minutes and Bayern struggled for a long time.
There are obvious problems between Van Gaal and the main star Ribery. The Frenchman was substituted in the second half and refused to shake hands with his coach when he walked out.
However, bigger problems for the team prior this match is the Flu virus that has spread in the squad.
Daniel van Buyten, Hans-Joerg Butt, Ivica Olic, Danijel Pranjic and Andreas Goerlitz all suffered from the virus and there are very slim chances that they all will play in this match.
Also next week Bayern Munich will face Fiorentina in a crucial Champions League match and Van Gaal said that he is thinking about resting Franck Ribery in this match so he will be fully prepared for Fiorentina.
Good news is the return of Bastian Schweinsteiger who recovered from his strain injury and is expected to take part in this match.
Michael Rensing is expected to be goalkeeper in this match and Thomas Muller should take Ivica Olic place in the attack.
Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund were stunned last weekend at home against Eintracht Frankfurt. They even had a 2-1 lead, which was not enough to prevent them from suffering the second straight defeat after their long streak of unbeaten matches.
However, even they are slowly dropping and losing the battle with the other championship contenders they still hold on to the fifth spot that leads in Europe next season which was their main goal prior the start of this season.
Good news for the team will be the return of the trio Roman Weidenfeller, Sven Bender and Jakub Blaszczykowski who all have recovered from injuries and are set to take part in this tough match.
Only change in the team will be the absence of Nelson Valdez who will have to sit out this match to serve one match suspension for his fifth yellow card that he had received last week.
Coach Klopp will field a formation with only one striker up front with Lucas Barrios and Mohamed Zidan behind him as an offensive midfielder.
The Betting Verdict
Bayern Munich are in fantastic series of eight consecutive wins in the Bundesliga. On the other side, Borussia Dortmund have two losses in a row.
The tradition is on Bayern Munich side as they have won 37 times, lost 18 and had 26 matches drawn against BVB. Borussia Dortmund have a very bad record when playing in Munich as they have won only six out of 40 matches there.
Although Bayern Munich have a superior record against Borussia Dortmund overall and especially at home ground, the recent problems in the squad and the absence of few players due to illness or resting for Champions League clash next week, i think that Borussia Dortmund might get a ‘sneaky’ draw.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bayern Munich 1-1 Borussia Dortmund
