German football is riding the crest of a wave after all four of their Champions League representatives made it through to the last 16 of Europe’s elite competition.
However, it is back to domestic matters for Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Borussia Monchengladbach this weekend, with Die Fohlen and Der BVB tipped to struggle in Round 11.
Gladbach Vulnerable to Berlin Boys
Gladbach’s success in reaching the knockout phase of the Champions League owed much to Inter Milan’s attacking woes in their goalless stalemate with Shakhtar Donetsk as Borussia were poor in a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in a result which flattered the Germans.
Marco Rose’s team caught the eye earlier in the season and yet recent performances suggest they could be vulnerable to dangerous outsiders Hertha on Saturday.
Gladbach have managed only one league clean sheet this season and their sole success in the last four came against hapless Schalke. Score draws with Augsburg and Freiburg suggest the busy schedule could be catching up with a team that had to put so much effort into a difficult Champions League group.
Hertha are worth considering to win the match straight up at 3/1.
Die Alte Dame won the local derby with ten-man Union 3-1 last week and before that drew 0-0 away to Leverkusen, a match which is a potential marker for the kind of test faced by Hertha this weekend.
Krzysztof Piatek scored twice against Union as a substitute and heavy investment sees decent midfielders Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Tousart part of a squad which is capable of much more than we have seen this season.
Dortmund May Not Have It Easy
Bayern Munich should have few problems overcoming Union and are priced up at odds of just 2/7 to win on the road, with the Bundesliga leaders not expected to trip up.
However, title rivals Borussia Dortmund are not so comfortable against a tricky Stuttgart side.
Stuttgart have lost only twice this season and the recent 3-1 defeat to Bayern did not tell the full story as Munich were limited to fewer shots (15-14) and needed a late Douglas Costa goal to hand them a flattering margin of victory.
A repeat performance from Stuttgart may just be enough to unsettle Dortmund, who are still missing star striker Erling Braut Haaland because of injury.
BVB are winless in two domestically and faced a long trip to St Petersburg in midweek so take Stuttgart or draw on the double chance at a juicy 31/20.
Lively Leverkusen Look Nice Bet
The pick of the weekend prices comes on Sunday where unbeaten second-placed Leverkusen can maintain their flying start by making it seven wins in eight when Hoffenheim visit to the BayArena.
Die Kraichgauer have not managed a clean sheet in this season’s Bundesliga and snapped a seven-game winless run by beating Augsburg 3-1 on Monday.
This is a much tougher assignment and Hoffenheim have already lost their only two games to teams currently above them in the table – both 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg. Leverkusen are a solid pick at 20/27.
*All odds correct at time of writing