First two matchups in this three-game preview can be considered as derbies because they feature foes that have an equal amount of points earned after four rounds of play. In Augsburg, the home team will lock horns with RB Leipzig (both teams have seven points earned so far) while in Gelsenkirchen we will witness one of the German Bundesliga classics between host Schalke 04 and defending champion Bayern Munich (both teams have nine points earned so far). Third duel features teams that are ranked at the second part of the table with only five points earned so far combined.
This will also be the first round of the season that will take place during midweek as the schedule for this year’s competition gets denser. Just a reminder, all European competitions will have to finish its seasons earlier in 2018 because the Soccer World Cup is set to be played in Russia next summer. Not much time for resting so let’s take a closer look.
FC Augsburg vs. RB Leipzig
Three-Way: 1: FC Augsburg +292; X: +268 Draw; 2: RB Leipzig +120
Spread +0.5: FC Augsburg -114; RB Leipzig +110
Total +2.5: Over +100; Under -104
FC AUGSBURG
The FC Augsburg team is recording a very good start to their 2017 Bundesliga campaign. They are currently ranked at No. 7 spot in the league table with seven total points earned and 2-1-1 record. Since the season opening 0:1 loss against Hamburger SV on the road they are undefeated and they are currently riding a two-game winning streak. After week two 2:2 home draw with Monchengladbach, a team from Bayern has recorded two consecutive wins over FC Koln at home (3:0) and over Eintracht Frankfurt on the road last weekend (2:1).
Alfred Finnbogason is the teams’ leading scorer with four goals for now. Besides him, P. Caiuby, P. Max, and S. Cordova have managed to get themselves on the scoreboard with one goal each. FC Augsburg’s current goal difference is 7-3 (5-2 at home).
Tim Rieder’s (knee) status is unknown while Raphael Framberger (knee), Georg Teigl (back), Moritz Leitner (ankle) and Marvin Friedrich (muscle) are all listed as day to day and they are questionable for Tuesday.
RB LEIPZIG
It looks like the busy schedule is catching up with the RB Leipzig team as they couldn’t manage to emerge victorious at their home venue, Red Bull Arena for the second straight game including the last weeks’ UEFA Champions League matchup against AS Monaco. This time, they couldn’t take the whole pray against a Bundesliga foe, Borussia Monchengladbach. A 2:2 draw comes as a disappointment after two consecutive wins in weeks two and three against Freiburg at home (4:1) and Hamburger SV on the road (0:2).
Currently, they rank sixth in the German Bundesliga table with seven total points and a 2-1-1 record. Their goal difference is 8-5 (2-2 on the road). Timo Werner is the teams’ top scorer with four goals in his account so far.
Naby Keita will be unavailable for Tuesday after he was sent off against Monchengladbach on Saturday while Fabio Coltorti’s (muscle) is unknown and it’s unclear if he will be in the squad against FC Augsburg.
FC Augsburg vs. RB Leipzig – Match Prediction
This is the matchup between two teams that are playing in a solid form currently. Surely this will be a very interesting clash with a draw as a possible outcome. Nevertheless, my first guess here is at least one goal scored by both teams.
My pick: Both teams score (-125)
Additional pick: Draw (+268)
Schalke 04 vs. Bayern Munich
Three-Way: 1: Schalke 04 +819; X: +423 Draw; 2: Bayern Munich -208
Spread +1.5: Schalke 04 -116; Bayern Munich +120
Total +3: Over -114; Under +110
SCHALKE 04
The Schalke 04 team is recording one of the best Bundesliga seasons starts in the last couple of years. They are currently ranked at No. 4 spot in the league table with nine total points earned, same as their next opponent Bayern Munich, but with a worse goal difference. They recorded three wins and one defeat in first four rounds and a possible positive result against the defending champions would present a firm statement that the team from Gelsenkirchen is for real this time.
The opening win against RB Leipzig (2:0) was followed by a road loss at Hannover 96 but the wins at home against Stuttgart (3:1) and on the road against Bremen (1:2) has propelled the teams’ confidence. Their goal difference is 7-3 (5-1 at home). Nabil Bentaleb is the teams’ leading scorer with two goals so far.
Luke Hemmerich (foot) whose status is listed as day to day and Donis Avdijaj (ankle) whose status is unknown are listed as questionable for Tuesday’s matchup.
BAYERN MUNICH
The defending Bundesliga champion already has one defeat in its record after four rounds and that wasn’t the case last year. They’ve recorded opening two wins over Leverkusen at home (3:1) and Bremen on the road (0:2) but then got shut down by the last season’s hard stone TSG Hoffenheim 1899 team in week 3 (0:2). Last weekend they disassembled the Mainz team in an obvious attack of rage because of for their standards, pretty slow start. (4:0).
They currently rank at No. 3 spot with one point less than Dortmund and Hoffenheim at the top of the Bundesliga table with 10 points earned each so far. Teams’ goal difference is 9-3 (2-2 on the road) and their leading scorer is Robert Lewandowski with five goals so far.
David Alaba is expected to be out until at least mid-October with some knee afflictions while Juan Bernat (ankle) is set to be back in early November.
Schalke 04 vs. Bayern Munich – Match Prediction
This should be one of the most interesting matchups of the round. The Bayern team has been much more successful lately when it comes to head to head matchups as the last win by Schalke occurred at Veltins Arena seven years ago (2:0). Since then, Bayern has 10 wins and only three matchups ended with a draw, including the last one that took place on February 4th (1:1) at the Allianz Arena. My best guess here is also at least one goal scored by both teams while a win by the guests is expected anyways.
My pick: Both teams score (-125)
VFL Wolfsburg vs. SV Werder Bremen
Three-Way: 1: VFL Wolfsburg +112; X: +265 Draw; 2: SV Werder Bremen +300
Spread -0.5: VFL Wolfsburg +106; SV Werder Bremen -111
Total +2.5: Over -105; Under +104
VFL WOLFSBURG
The Wolves seem to continue their struggles from the entire last year when they had to fight for the survival in the last round of the Bundesliga season. Currently, they rank at No. 14 spot in the Bundesliga table with four points in four matches and a 1-1-2 record. Their only win so far came in the week 2 at Frankfurt (1:0) and they are coming off from a road loss at Stuttgart (o:2) that came after a 1.1 home draw against another newcomer in the league, Hannover 96.
They still don’t have a full-pray game at home and their goal difference is 2-5 (1-4 at home). Only two goals that team scored so far are the deed of Daniel Didavi.
Mario Gomez (ankle) and Jeffrey Bruma (knee) should be ready in a few weeks while the most expensive addition of the offseason, John Anthony Brooks (thigh) is expected to be back in mid-November. Jakub Blaszczykowski’s (flu) status is unknown while Marcel Tisserand (thigh), Kaylen Hinds (cold) and Christian Trasch (unknown) are listed as day to day. Adelino Vierinha (ankle) should be back in the team in few days.
SV WERDER BREMEN
The bad season starts in the German Bundesliga are nothing new to the Werder Bremen team who started the last season with four consecutive losses. This time they were close to repeating that record but managed to earn one point in first four weeks that came in week 3 in Berlin against Hertha (1:1). They are currently ranked 17th in the Bundesliga table with 2-6 goal difference (1-2 on the road). If we look to the last season again, this should be the week when the Green-Whites earn their first three points but the way that team is playing lately, that can hardly happen.
Lamine Sane and Thomas Delaney are only two guys that managed to get themselves on the scoreboard so far with one goal each.
Max Kruse (collarbone) should be back in mid-November while Justin Eilers’s (cruciate ligament) timetable for return is set in early January next year. Zlatko Junuzovic (Achilles tendon) and Eric Oelschlagel (elbow) should be available during this month while Niklas Moisander (thigh) is back in training.
VFL Wolfsburg vs. SV Werder Bremen – Match Prediction
The home team looks like an obvious favorite here but both of these teams are pretty unpredictable, especially at the beginning of the season when they haven’t still reached their full potential. If you’re willing to take a bigger risk, I would go with a double chance on the visiting team because their bad run must end sometime, and there is no better place to do so than at the Volkswagen Arena against the Wolves that haven’t yet won a home game. A safer pick might be under 2.5 goals in total.
My pick: Under 2.5 goals (+104)
Additional Pick: Double Chance on Werder X2 (-115)
