German Bundesliga
2010-11-20 - Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Football : Germany : Bundesliga
Venue : Bay Arena
Saturday, 20th November 2010 – kickoff 18:30
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen are currently second in the Bundesliga and look like real title contenders, and interesting fact is that in the last ten league matches they have lost only the match against Mainz.
The team recently is on good run with three straight wins, so this match will be a real test for their capabilities. Their home form is still not at high level as they have won only two out of their six matches at their home ground.
Good news for the coach Jupp Heynckes is the return of the central defender Sami Hyypia who had fully recovered from an ankle ligament injury, and he will probably start in this match. Also the striker Eren Derdiyok is back in the squad after recovering from hamstring injury, but he will be at the bench and Patrick Helmes will start as only striker.
The defender Stefan Reinartz will have to sit out this match due to yellow cards suspension, and Michael Ballack and Stefan Kiessling are still in rehab.
Probable Bayer Leverkusen line-up :
Schwaab, M. Friedrich, Hyypia, Kadlec
Vidal, Rolfes,
Sam, Renato Augusto, Barnetta,
Helmes
Bayern Munich
The Bavarians won comfortably 3-0 against FC Nurnberg in the last round and slowly are closing the gap between the leading teams in the Bundesliga, although they are still big twelve points behind the leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Recently they have been running good with a series of five league matches without defeat, but the reason for their lower than expected placement at the table is their poor away form as they have only one away victory in the six away matches they have played so far.
Franck Ribery got 20 minutes of playing time in the last match against FC Nurnberg and is closing to full match fitness, but he will probably start this match once again from the bench.
The left back Diego Contento is also back in the squad but its too early for him to play in the starting line up as he needs more conditioning and Daniel Pranjic is doing good job at that position.
The formation will be the same from the past few rounds as this formation obviously brings results with Mario Gomez as only striker, Altintop and Kroos at the wings and Bastian Schweinsteiger as offensive midfielder.
Probable Bayern Munich line-up :
Lahm, van Buyten, Demichelis, Pranjic ,
Tymoshchuk, Ottl,
Hamit Altintop, Schweinsteiger, Kroos,
Gomez
The Betting Verdict
Interesting fact is that Bayer Leverkusen are without a victory against Bayern Munich for eleven straight matches in the past six years. Last time Bayer Leverkusen have won against Bayern was back in year 2004 when they defeated their opponents 4-1.
Last season both matches between these teams have ended in identical 1-1 draws.
This is a tricky match for picking a winner as both teams are currently in great form. The tradition is on Bayern Munich side, but Bayer Leverkusen look impressive this season. My opinion is that there will be few goals in this match so i would take a bet on that.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Bayern Munich
