German Bundesliga
2010-03-21 - Vfl Wolfsburg vs Hertha Berlin
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Volkswagen Arena
Sunday, 21th March 2010 – kickoff 17:30
Vfl Wolfsburg
‘The Wolves` came back from behind against Rubin Kazan in the Europa League and won 2-1 which put them in the next round where they will face Fulham.
This team plays very good football recently and it took a long time before they started playing again like a champions. In the last ten league matches Wolfsburg have lost only twice- against Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. They climbed to the eight spot at the table with 37 points, 6 points behind the places that lead into Europe which makes their goal for another European experience next season more realistic.
Great news for the team is the return to the trainings of the first choice goalkeeper, the Swiss International Diego Benaglio who was out since the start of the season and if everything goes well he might start the match against Hertha Berlin. However, Andrea Barzagli is still injured and also Grafite was not involved in the last couple of trainings and he is very much doubtful for selection. If he is not able to play, Obafemi Martins will take his place in the attack where he will be paired with Edin Dzeko.
Hertha Berlin
Last match in Berlin was a ‘must win’ for Hertha against Nurnberg in order to have some slim chances for survival, but they have failed to do that and it happened just opposite- Nurnberg won 2-1 with a last minute goal and left Hertha Berlin players in despair. What is more frightening, right after Nurnberg scored, an angry mob of 20-30 Hertha Berlin`s fans entered the pitch with metal sticks and were going to beat up their own players, who run immediately towards the dressing rooms.
The team is still at the rock bottom with just 15 points and the relegation seems inevitable which will leave the capital city next season without a single Bundesliga team, but that is just the way it is in football sometimes. Some crucial players like Josip Simunic (TSG Hoffenheim), Andrey Voronin (Dinamo Moscow) and Marko Pantelic (Ajax) left last season and no replacements were brought so the team have to rely on mediocre players this season.
Hertha Berlin have won only once against Freiburg in the last ten matches which is far from enough in the battle for survival in the league.
Midfielder Gojko Kacar is still not match fit but he will probably start in this match, because Coach Friedhelm Funkel does not have many options available. Fabian Lustenberger returns in the midfield after serving one match suspension due to yellow cards.
Teofanis Gekas will be the only striker in this match and Steve Von Bergen (back problems) and Florian Kringe (broken foot bone) will miss this match through injuries.
The Betting Verdict
First match between these teams this season ended in goalless draw, and overall Hertha Berlin surprisingly (or not) have positive record against Wolfsburg, whom they have beaten 11 times, 7 matches were drawn and 7 matches were won by Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg have a series of four straight wins and especially the last two wins were really impressive against Bochum 4:1 and Borussia Monchengladbach 4:0.
Wolfsburg are much better squad than Hertha Berlin and in the second part of the season Wolfsburg have been very strong and together with Stuttgart they are among the teams with best form in the last ten matches.
On the other side Hertha Berlin are in desperate need for points, but they also were in desperate need of points in the last ten matches and still they failed to deliver when was most expected from them.
Last weeks loss at home against their direct relegation rival Nurnberg and the attack by the fans on them really shook the team even more and probably Wolfsburg will cruise to a victory here.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Vfl Wolfsburg-Hertha Berlin 2-0
