The Bundesliga has a number of top clashes this weekend, with the headline act seeing Bayern Munich take on Borussia Dortmund in a key top of the table clash.
Games are set to go back to limited capacity in Germany with the COVID restrictions returning so there will be a muted atmosphere around the league. However, the quality of football on show will hopefully make up for the return to the old normal.
Pivotal Klassiker
Just a point separates Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table and even this early in the season, this looks a vital game if the Yellows are to have any chance of chasing down the champions.
Dortmund’s recent record in this tie is not great however, with Bayern winning eight of the last nine league meetings between the pair.
Erling Haaland did provide a big boost for Marco Rose and his side when he returned to the team with a goal last week.
Defence has been where the issues have been for Dortmund this season, conceding 19 goals in their first 13 games.
Only eight teams in the league have leaked more than that and they face a team who have broken goalscoring records in recent times.
In fact, Bayern have netted 42 times already this season and over 2.5 goals in this match is available at 5/6.
In light of the defensive issues at Dortmund and Bayern’s strong recent record in Der Klassiker, the German champions at 4/5 could prove to be the answer.
Leipzig May Come Unstuck Again
Elsewhere, the Bundesliga weekend kicks off in style with an intriguing matchup between Union Berlin and RB Leipzig on Friday night.
After their second-placed finish last year, Leipzig had their side picked apart by Bayern, losing their central midfielder, central defender and manager to the champions.
They have struggled since and are sat in eighth, two places behind Union Berlin.
The Red Bull side are missing Dani Olmo, Yussuf Poulsen, Willi Orban and Peter Gulacsi and Union may be worth chancing to inflict further misery upon them at 5/2.
Surprise Package Freiburg Can Strike Again
Freiburg have been the surprise package of this year’s Bundesliga and currently sit in fourth place after 13 games. They travel to take on Monchengladbach who are lingering in midtable after an inconsistent start to the season.
Despite losing three on the spin, Freiburg can bounce back here. Two of those defeats were to Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt and they had higher expected goals figures than their opponents in both of their losses to Frankfurt and Bochum.
Despite Gladbach’s strong home form, 3/1 looks too big about Freiburg regaining the winning thread on their visit to a side coming off the back of a 4-1 defeat to Koln.
*All odds correct at time of writing