German Bundesliga
2010-04-03 - Borussia Dortmund vs Werder Bremen
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Football : Germany : Bundesliga
Signal Iduna Park
Saturday, 03rd April 2010 – kickoff 15:30
Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund were held to a goalless draw last weekend against bottom placed Hertha Berlin but still kept their fourth position at the table with 49 points, just one point above Werder Bremen.
After a short bad spell, Borussia Dortmund now are unbeaten for four straight matches (three wins and one draw).
Coach Klopp will field his strongest formation as Mats Hummels is back in the squad again after his jaw injury and he will take his place in the defense. That means that Felipe Santana, who played last week, will have to be benched for this match. Grosskreutz und Blaszczykowski were complaining to a muscle problems during last weeks training sessions but they will be fit enough to play in the starting line up.
Mohamed Zidan and Kevin Grosskreutz will pose threat to the visitors at the wings and Lucas Barrios will be the only striker in this formation.
The only absent player will be Tinga (lacks fitness), but there are reports that he will be at the bench.
Probable Borussia Dortmund line-up :
Owomoyela, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer,
Kehl, Sahin,
Blaszczykowski, Zidan , Grosskreutz,
Barrios
Werder Bremen
Werder Bremen, just like Borussia Dormund, are in pursuit for the last place that leads in the Champions league qualifications. Last weekend they showed another very good performance winning 4-2 against FC Nurnberg and now are five points behind a Champions league spot.
Werder Bremen are on a very good run recently with eight matches being unbeaten and they have also won all of the last three away matches.
Coach Schaaf has problems in the midfield as the team captain Torsten Frings is not available for selection due to a red card he had picked up in the last round for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Philip Bargfrede will take his place as a defensive midfielder. Another change from last week`s line up will be that Aaron Hunt will take Hugo Almeida`s place in the attack. Niemeyer is injured and will not play as well.
The goalkeeper Tim Wiese had trained individually during the last week due to a calf injury but he should be fit enough to start this match once again.
Probable Werder Bremen line-up :
Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Boenisch,
Bargfrede, Borowski , Marin ,
Ozil, Hunt
Pizarro
The Betting Verdict
The first match between these teams this season ended in 1-1 draw. The last victory of Werder Bremen against Borussia Dortmund in Dortmund came four seasons ago (1-0).
Overall, the tradition is on Werder Bremen side as they have won 38 times, lost 29 and 23 matches were drawn against their opponents. Interesting fact is that only three out of the 83 matches has ended goalless.
Borussia Dortmund lost only once in the last five league matches against Werder Bremen, and the last two home matches were won "to nil".
Both teams have the top strikers in the Bundesliga - Claudio Pizarro has scored 24 goals and Lucas Barrios 19 goals.
I think that both teams will play their game, nice offensive football but still without taking risks too much. Both teams have (most likely) secured their position in Europe for next season and probably the fans will see a good match without a winner.
My opinion is that a draw is the likely outcome of this match as both teams will look to get as many wins in the remaining six matches after this tough fixture.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Borussia Dortmund-Werder Bremen 1-1
