The final round of Bundesliga fixtures before the Christmas break is nearly upon us, and it promises to be an exciting weekend of action as league leaders Bayer Leverkusen play host to reigning champions Bayern Munich.
Hansi Flick’s men have taken their foot off the gas in recent weeks, and that has allowed Leverkusen to move to the top of the table, but for how long?
Bayern have dominated German football for the last decade, winning the previous eight Bundesliga titles in succession.
Borussia Dortmund were the last team to get their hands on the trophy, but they have had to settle for second in the previous two campaigns.
Leverkusen are doing all they can to prove they can compete this season, but they have never won the Bundesliga but have finished runners-up on five occasions.
Peter Bosz’s side have only lost one of their last 15, but experience will be needed on Saturday against Bayern. The visitors have that in abundance, and they will be confident of getting the job done at the Bay Arena.
Although Flick’s men have dropped below their usual standards, they still haven’t lost since September. Bayern won the treble last season, and it would be naive to overlook them, even though Leverkusen are in form.
Both teams are capable of scoring, but Bayern should come out on top, and it is 6/4 for that to happen on Saturday.
Dortmund Ready to Kick on under Terzic
Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways under interim manager Edin Teriz when they beat Werder Bremen 2-1 on Tuesday. It was a good response just days after they lost 5-1 to Stuttgart, a result that cost Lucien Favre his job.
With Erling Haaland injured, Dortmund are going to need to dig deep in the coming weeks, but they should have too much for Union Berlin during Friday’s meeting.
The home side have not won any of their last four, but Union Berlin did manage to hold Bayern to a 1-1 draw last weekend. They then did the same against Dortmund’s conquerers, Stuttgart, but Dortmund’s away record is too good to ignore.
Die Borussen have won four of their last five on the road in the league, and they beat Union Berlin 5-0 during their previous meeting.
Friday’s game could go the same way as the Bayern clash, with Dortmund 11/5 to win and both teams to score.
Wolfsburg Ready to Keep Stuttgart at Bay
A cracking match looks to be on the cards on Sunday as Wolfsburg welcome Stuttgart to the Volkswagen Arena. Just three points separate the two sides, with Wolfsburg fairing slightly better, despite losing to Bayern Munch on Wednesday evening.
As we said earlier, Stuttgart claimed a massive victory against Dortmund last weekend, and they are now eight unbeaten on their travels.
Wolfsburg are unbeaten in seven on home soil, and they also have an excellent record against Sunday’s opponents. Wolfsburg’s last home loss to Stuttgart came in 2007, they have won 10 games and drawn once since then.
Sunday’s encounter could go either way and with both teams bang in form, it seems like they may cancel each other out and a score draw is priced at 29/10.
*All odds correct at time of writing.