Bayern Munich are back in Bundesliga action on Saturday and will be keen to put their 5-0 hammering by Borussia Monchengladbach behind them.
It was their heaviest defeat since 1978 as Julian Nagelsmann’s side were dumped out of the German Cup in spectacular fashion.
The former RB Leipzig boss will be hoping to ensure that result was a blip as they travel to Union Berlin.
Seeking a tenth consecutive Bundesliga title, Bayern are a point clear of main rivals Borussia Dortmund, with surprise packages Freiburg in third, three points off the summit.
Bayern Primed for Tough Away Day
One ground that Bayern would not wish to go to on the back of a 5-0 thumping is the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
Bayern might still be the hot favourites to win the title, but Nagelsmann still has to negotiate some tricky ties throughout the season.
Indeed, Union proved to be a thorn in the side last season – a pair of 1-1 draws meant they had the distinction of being unbeaten against the champions.
This season, their home record has been strong as per usual – Urs Fischer’s men have collected 11 points from five matches on their own turf.
For any team, including Bayern, taking points away from the capital is a good result, and a draw, which is priced at 5/1 might prove to be a valuable shout.
Powerful Dortmund Too Strong for Cologne
If Bayern do slip up against Union Berlin, then Marco Rose’s Borussia Dortmund could replace them at the table’s summit.
BVB have won each of their past three games and have not dropped any points yet at the Westfalenstadion.
They have certainly suffered a blow with the news that star striker Erling Haaland could be out until the start of 2022, but there is still plenty of firepower beyond him.
Defensively, Dortmund need to tighten up – they have conceded 15 goals in just nine matches which is the second-highest of those in the top half of the table.
Full speed ahead to MD10
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— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) October 28, 2021
Cologne, however, are the highest, and they face a very tough trip on Saturday, particularly as they haven’t won away from yet this season.
With that in mind, Dortmund are available at 5/4 to win with both teams to score.
Kohfeldt Set for Tricky Start
Wolfsburg might be a Champions League team, but things aren’t looking so rosy at the minute.
After just one point in five matches and four straight defeats, former Netherlands midfielder Mark van Bommel was sacked last week despite only being in the job since the start of the season.
He failed to build on their successes from last season – in particular, goalscoring has proven to be elusive, with the Saxony club scoring just nine times in nine Bundesliga matches.
Former Werder Bremen boss Florian Kohfeldt has been drafted in to replace Van Bommel, and a trip to Bayer Leverkusen will be his first task.
Leverkusen sit fourth in the table with five wins from nine, three of those wins seeing four goals scored.
They haven’t won in three and were defeated by 2 Bundesliga side Karlsruher at home in their midweek German Cup clash.
However, Wolfsburg are low on confidence, and Leverkusen’s only league defeats this season have come against big hitters Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
They can be backed to win to nil at 47/20.
*All odds correct at time of writing.