The round 8 of German Bundesliga features six matchups this Saturday and here we have prepared for you the analysis of three of those. The first duel will take place at Opel Arena between Mainz and HSV. The hosts are coming off from a 1:1 road draw in Wolfsburg while the guests are coming off from a goalless home draw against Werder Bremen. The second matchup will be played at Allianz Arena between the defending champions Bayern Munich who is winless in last two rounds (two draws against Hertha Berlin and Wolfsburg) and SC Freiburg that managed to snatch full pray at home two weeks ago against very good Hoffenheim team (3:2).
The final matchup of this preview will take place at Rhein-Neckar-Arena between the Blues from Sinsheim who as it has been mentioned above suffered a first defeat of the season in last round, and FC Augsburg that is also coming off from a defeat that was inflicted on them by the league leader Borussia Dortmund.
FSV Mainz 05 vs. Hamburger SV
Three-Way: 1: 1. FSV Mainz 05 -118; X: +295 Draw; Hamburger SV +450
Spread -0.5: 1. FSV Mainz 05 -133; Hamburger SV +127
Total +2.5: Over +104; Under -110
FSV MAINZ 05
The FSV Mainz team managed to record first two straight games without a defeat prior to the international break and we’ll see if they can hold up with this positive streak this weekend. Their 1:1 draw in Wolfsburg against the Wolves in round 7 also produced the first point on the road this season.
Currently, the team ranks at the No. 13 spot in the Bundesliga table with seven total points earned and 2-1-4 record. Their goal difference is 7-11 (6-5 at home) and 50% of their home matches had over 2.5 goals in total. In 29% of the showdowns, they managed to concede at least one goal in both halves and in 14% of those matches they managed to score at least one goal in both halves.
Individually, striker Yoshimori Muto leads the team in scoring with three goals so far while midfielder Levin Oztunali has four assists. Passing segment belongs to defenders Giulio Donati with 238 and Daniel Brosinski with 233 total passes.
Karim Onisiwo’s (shoulder) and Stefan Bell’s (knee) status is unknown while Niko Bungert (thigh) and Aaron Seydel (knee) are listed as day to day. Levin Oztunali (groin), Danny Latza (Achilles) and Gaetan Bussman (groin) are back in training.
HAMBURGER SV
The Red Shorts entered the season in an extraordinary fashion recording two wins in first two weeks but then their form dropped down big time as they managed to get themselves on a four-game losing streak that ended in the last round with a goalless home draw against the team from Bremen.
Currently, Hamburger team ranks below the relegation line at No. 16 spot thanks to their poor 4-11 goal difference and in next couple of rounds, we shall see if the team is poised for another “battle for survival” kind of season or they have something up their sleeves. No Hamburger’s player has scored more than one goal this year as four guys stay on the top of the team’s scoring list (Andre Hahn, Lewis Holtby, Nicolai Muller and Bobby Wood). Albin Ekdal and Walace have one assist each so far.
Kyriakos Papadoupulos is suspended for the next match (red card) while Nicoali Muller is out due to cruciate ligament injury and he will be off the field until February next year. Andreas Hirzel’s (Flu) status is unknown while Pierre-Michael Lasogga (thigh) is listed as day to day. Sven Schipplock (back) and Rick Van Drongelen (groin) are back in training.
FSV Mainz 05 vs. Hamburger SV – Match Prediction
This game sounds very like business as usual in German Bundesliga (under 2.5 goals in total) and that’s where I would put my money first. When it comes to the final score, I think that draw makes the most sense at the moment, having in mind the both team’s form. If you really need to pick a winner, my guess is home team win with one goal difference.
My pick: Under 2.5 goals (-110)
Additional pick: Draw (+295)
Bayern Munich vs. SC Freiburg
Three-Way: 1: Bayern Munich -526; X: +1600 Draw; SC Freiburg +3500
Spread -2.5: Bayern Munich -130; SC Freiburg +125
Total +4: Over -104; Under -101
BAYERN MUNICH
The Bundesliga defending champions are currently on a two-game winless streak with two 2:2 draws in last two rounds against Wolfsburg at home and Hertha Berlin on the road. The 4-2-1 record is not what the fans and the board were hoping for at this point of the season as the Bavarians are slowly losing pace behind the leader Borussia Dortmund. They currently rank second in the league table thanks to their superior goal difference, five points behind the leader.
They’re scoring 2.29 goals per match but they are also conceding 1.00 goals per game and that’s something coach Carlo Ancelotti has to fix if he wants to be the contender for the title. Polish striker Robert Lewandowski tops the team and the league with eight goals in seven matches while Arjen Robben has two in his account. Surprisingly, leading assister is defender Joshua Kimmich with three while Thomas Muller and Corentin Tolisso have two each.
Franck Ribery (knee) is expected to be back before Christmas while starting goalie Manuel Neuer (foot) probably won’t see any action before April next year. Arturo Vidal’s (thigh) status is unknown while Juan Bernat (ankle) should be available in few days. Niklas Sule (thigh), Thiago Alcantara (ankle) and David Alaba (ankle) are back in training.
SC FREIBURG
The team from Schwarzwald region recorded its first win of the season in last round at home against a very strong opponent, namely Hoffenheim. The team is currently ranked just above the relegation line at No. 15 spot in the league table but their form is not that faulty because they recorded only two losses and four draws before the aforementioned victory.
They’re scoring 0.71 and conceding 1.57 goals per match (5-11 goal difference, 1-8 on the road). 67% of their road games had over 3.5 goals in total and 33% of their road matches had over 4.5 goals in total. In 14% of those matches, they managed to score at least one goal in both halves while in 29% of those games they managed to concede at least one goal in both halves. Team’s leading scorer is Florian Niederlechner with two goals while Nils Petersen, Caglar Soyuncu and Pascal Stenzel have one each in their accounts. Midfielder Nicolas Hofler authored team-high two assists so far.
Amir Abrashi (ankle) and Manuel Gulde (back) are expected to be back in a few weeks while Vincent Sierro’s (muscle), Marc-Oliver Kempf’s (muscle) and Jonas Meffert’s (foot) status is unknown. Georg Niedermeier (back) is back in training.
Bayern Munich vs. SC Freiburg – Match Prediction
Oppose to the first matchup of this preview, this duel has high potency to be a high-scoring one as both teams are no strange to scoring and conceding in bunches lately. When it comes to the final score edge surely goes to the home team and this outcome should not come in question.
My pick: Over 4 goals (-104)
TSG Hoffenheim 1899 vs. FC Augsburg
Three-Way: 1: TSG Hoffenheim 1899 -111; X: +300 Draw; FC Augsburg +390
Spread -0.5: TSG Hoffenheim 1899 -125; FC Augsburg +121
Total +2.5: Over -128; Under +121
TSG HOFFENHEIM 1899
First defeat of the season for the Blues from Sinsheim came in right time just before the international break giving coach Julian Nagelsmann more time to regroup the squad and remedy possible mistakes. They currently rank at No. 3 spot in the league table with the same number of points earned like second-placed Bayern Munich (14) but with worse goal difference.
The team is 4-2-1 after seven rounds and they’ve managed to score 13 while conceding eight goals (6-1 at home). 75% of their home matches had over 1.5 goals in total but no match had over 2.5 goals. In 57% of games, Hoffenheim players managed to score at least one goal in both halves while in 29% of those matches they managed to concede at least one goal in both halves. Centre-Forward Mark Uth tops the team in scoring with four goals so far while Andrej Kramaric and Sandro Wagner have two each in their accounts. Passing segment belongs to defenders Kevin Vogt and Benjamin Hubner with 385 and 361 total passes.
Serge Gnabry (muscle), Adam Szalai (groin), Lukas Rupp (unknown), Ermin Bicakcic (knee) and Robin Hack (head) are all listed as day to day while Benjamin Hubner’s (muscle) and Kevin Vogt’s (illness) status is unknown. Kerem Demirbay (muscle), Mark Uth (muscle) and Nadiem Amiri (foot) are back in training.
FC AUGSBURG
Five games without-of-defeat run ended in the last round at home against the league leader Borussia Dortmund (1:2) but nevertheless, the Augsburg’s fans have plenty of reason to be satisfied with the start of the season. 3-2-2 record and No. 6 spot at the league table look very appealing.
They score 1.29 and concede 0.86 goals per match (9-6 goal difference) and 33% of their total road games had over 2.5 goals in total. In 43% of Augsburg’s duels both teams scored but they haven’t conceded a goal in both halves yet. Forward Alfred Finnbogason is the leading scorer with four goals while Caiuby has two in his account. Defender Philipp Max tops the team in assists with three so far while passing segment belongs to Daniel Baier with 222 total passes.
Philipp Max (cold), Martin Hinteregger (ankle), Raphael Framberger (knee), Georg Teigl (back), Moritz Leitner (ankle) and Marvin Friedrich (muscle) are all listed as day to day while Andreas Luthe’s (stomach) and Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker’s (virus) status is unknown. Tim Rieder (knee) is back in training.
TSG Hoffenheim 1899 vs. FC Augsburg – Match Prediction
It will be very interesting to see how these teams will react to losses that ended their streaks in last round. Slight advantage here goes to the home team but a bit safer bet would be at least one goal scored by both teams and that’s where I will go primarily. The additional pick will be the home team victory.
My pick: Both teams score (-135)
Additional pick: TSG Hoffenheim 1899 (-111)
