Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayer Leverkusen
Borussia Park is the place to be on Saturday as the mouthwatering prospect of the Bundesliga game between Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen is on the menu.
The hosts had a poor first half of the season by any standards and are down in 12th place but they will be full of confidence having returned from the winter break to beat FC Bayern in their first game of 2022, while their visitors drew 2-2 at home to Union Berlin.
That single point saw Leverkusen drop out of the top four and head coach Gerardo Seoane will be keen to arrest the decline which has seen his team say goodbye to any faint title dreams.
A Champions League place is the target for Die Werkself and they have the players to achieve that goal, while Monchengladbach are looking for a complete turnaround and a march on the top six.
It all adds up to a fascinating clash, so let’s take a closer look at the recent Bundesliga 2022 news and the latest Asian Handicap betting offers here at SBOTOP.
Talking Points
Hutter must put some faith in Neuhaus
A year ago, Borussia Monchengladbach were right in the midst of the Bundesliga leading pack, sitting in fifth place with 31 points and pushing for Champions League.
But right now, they are 12th on 22 points. They are only six points behind Koln in sixth place so head coach Adi Hutter must surely have his eyes on a Europa League place.
The boss has a dilemma in the shape of two of his midfield players. Firstly, midfield ace Jonas Hofmann is sidelined with an injury and, as top scorer with seven league goals, he is a miss.
And then Hutter needs to put faith in 24-year-old midfielder Florian Neuhaus. The young star scored in the win over Bayern to make it four for the campaign, but he has been short of game time recently. He has been left on the bench five times and started only three league games since September.
Neuhaus seems to have been a victim of Die Fohlen’s poor start but there is a fine player there, tracked by Liverpool last summer and now watched closely by Real Madrid who see him as a potential long term replacement for Toni Kroos.
Neuhaus’ ultimate destination remains unclear, but if he’s fancied by two of Europe’s biggest and most successful clubs then maybe Hutter should take another look at his young star.
In his four seasons at the club he’s made 130 appearances, scoring 19 goals and making 20 assists, so it’s not exactly a huge leap of faith for the coach.
Hutter can rely on some experienced stars if he needs his team to tough it out. Seasoned strikers Alassane Plea and Lars Stindl have the class to open up defences while in goal, Yann Sommer has been a key player on the pitch and in the dressing room.
This is a team which can make the top six and they need to feed off their stunning success against Bayern.
Leverkusen’s lethal weapons
While Hutter has been scratching his head, his opposite number Gerardo Seoane has players he knows he can rely on to win games.
It is none other than Czech hitman Patrik Schick, who is giving Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski a run for his money with 17 goals from 15 games.
Alongside Schick, French striker Moussa Diaby has pace to burn and is improving week by week. And another young star continues to make his mark in an advanced midfield position.
18-year-old Florian Wirtz has scored five goals and made seven assists and, with four Germany caps already won, he could turn out to be one of the players of his generation.
A home game against Union Berlin presented Bayer with a chance to reignite their campaign after picking up just one point from three games before the winter break.
But after Schick had opened the scoring, a quick-fire double from Grischa Promel gave the Berliners a lead and it took a late header from Jonathan Tah to save a point.
History
Leverkusen have won 26 of the last 57 encounters in all competitions including the last four, while Die Fohlen have won 11 and there have been 18 draws.
Die Werkself hammered Monchengladbach 4-0 when the two teams met in August on matchday two as Schick was on target, and only heroic work from Die Fohlen’s keeper Sommer kept the score just about respectable. And Bayer won 1-0 last season on their visit to Borussia Park.
Both clubs have won only once in the last six games and they will each be chasing three points on Saturday.
Betting Tip
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 | Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayer Leverkusen | Over 3.50 @ 2.19 |
| January 16, 01:30 (GMT+8) |
We have a belter on our hands according to the latest Bundesliga 2022 betting odds which can hardly split the two teams.
Die Werkself are marginal favourites at a price of 2.45. The hosts are slightly longer at 2.51 while the draw is the outside bet at 3.55. With goals flowing at either end for both teams we could be in for a great 90 minutes of entertainment and, for an outside bet, a 2-2 Draw at odds of 9.16 is worth a longer look.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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