German Bundesliga
2009-10-24 - Hannover 96 vs Vfb Stuttgart
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
AWD-Arena
Saturday, 24th October 2009 – kickoff 15:30
Hannover 96
Hannover goes into this match with lots of problems and a lengthy injury list. Especially in the attack, coach Andreas Bergmann has very little to work with and not many options are available for him.
They are currently in twelfth place with just nine points so far, but are one point ahead of Stuttgart.
In every single line of the team there are absent players. Aside from long term injuries to Mikael Forssell, Jan Schlaudrauf and Mike Hanke, there is now also a serious doubt over the availability of Jiri Stajner who has an elbow injury and is not fully recovered.
The importance of the Czech International for the team is that he is the top scorer of the team with four goals scored so far. There is only one striker left in the team – Didier Ya Konan, who haven`t got much playing time this season, but in this game he is the only option available.
The Hannover team captain and German international goalkeeper Robert Enke has been suffering in recent weeks from an infection and most recently from hip trouble. His replacement Fromlowitz will definitely start in this match.
Probable Hannover 96 line-up :
Cherundolo, Haggui , Schulz, Djakpa
Balitsch - Sofian Chahed , Bruggink, Rosenthal,
Stajner (Krzynówek), Ya Konan
Vfb Stuttgart
Coach Markus Babbel is under pressure after two consecutive losses against Schalke and Sevilla. The team already has five defeats in nine rounds so its no wonder why are they at the bottom of the table.
However,it seems that the team plays much better when travelling. There are reports that the Coach Markus Babbel is on the verge to be sacked if he does not deliver wins in the next few rounds including this one.
That is why probably the team will start with aggressive formation, also with midfielders taking an aggressive role.
Babbel also has problems in his team due to injuries of several players. The coach will be without striker Cacau (hip injury, three weeks out), Georg Niedermeier (ankle ligament tear) and long-term absentee Martin Lanig, and there is doubt over the availability of Sami Khedira, who has a foot problem.
Probable Vfb Stuttgart line-up :
Osorio, Tasci, Delpierre, Boka
Träsch,Kuzmanovic, Khedira, Hleb,
Marica, Schieber(Pogrebnyak)
The Betting Verdict
This is very important match for both teams having in mind that they are both at the bottom and need to win in order to boost their confidence and move up quickly at this stage of the competition.
Both teams are in bad form, but i give some advantage to Stuttgart due to many absent key players for the home team.
Also the tradition is on Stuttgart side - since their promotion in 2002, Hannover have never managed to take all three pointsagainst Stuttgart.
Stuttgart have won 12 out of the last 20 meetings between these two sides and have only lost one of their last 14 matches against Hannover.
The price on away win is more than great and i really expect Stuttgart to give much better performance against the weakened team of Hannover.
Anything other than Stuttgart win will probably lead in changes in the team both player and staff. Babbel as a coach has never experienced three losses in a row and i think this is a perfect time for Stuttgart to get an important win.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Hannover 96-Vfb Stuttgart 1-3
