Bundesliga: Now Can the Foals do Leverkusen a Favour?

Bayern Munich vs Borussia Monchengladbach

FC Bayern aim to keep their Bundesliga title charge on track on Saturday when Borussia Monchengladbach are the visitors to the Munich Allianz Arena.

This is a second versus 12^th clash and the SBOTOP odds point to a comfortable home win for Thomas Tuchel’s team, but Gerardo Seoane’s Foals held leaders Bayer Leverkusen to a goalless draw last weekend and now Die Werkeslf will be hoping for the favour to be returned. 

Bayern come into the game on the back of two league wins, after they handed the initiative to Leverkusen when they lost to Werder Bremen recently, and now they sit two points behind Xabi Alonso’s leaders. Leverkusen are away to bottom club SV Darmstadt on Saturday so a slip up from Bayern will very likely see the gap grow.        

Talking Points

Tuchel’s injury worries are piling up

The FC Bayern treatment room has been the busiest place at the Allianz Arena recently and head coach Tuchel was already short of some key players when he took his team to meet Augsburg. The injury hit side fought hard for a 3-2 win as 19 year old Aleksandar Palovic, Alphonso Davies and Harry Kane all hit the target. But the win came at a cost as striker Kingsley Coman picked up an injury to join fellow striker Serge Gnabry among the walking wounded. The injury to Koman has left Bayern short in attack and they were already stretched at the back following a sequence of injuries the week before.

In a 1-0 win over Union Berlin, the Bavarians lost centre back Dayot Upamecano, full back Konrad Laimer and midfield ace Joshua Kimmich. Upamecano’s thigh injury looked serious enough but the loss of Kimmich is arguably more costly to Die Bayern. He fell awkwardly on his shoulder and missed the Augsburg game and the German star is unlikely to appear this weekend.

Kimmich has been such a key player for Bayern and rarely of form or injured. The latest Bundesliga 2024 betting odds rate Tuchel’s team as favourites for the title and with Kane and Leroy Sane in such good form they are still the team to beat…but they could do with a few players back before long…particularly Kimmich.

Monchengladbach can play without fear

After a mixed set of Bundesliga 2024 results, Die Fohlen are on 21 points, ten points adrift of the European places and ten above the automatic relegation places. So they are in a comfortable position, but one without much hope of a big finish to the campaign.

They do have a chance of silverware though, in the quarter finals of the DFB Pokal Cup and with a great draw against giant-killers Saarbrucken, while Bayern Munich are one of the big guns who have fallen by the wayside.

And Monchengladbach have shown in recent weeks that they can stand up against the best. As well as holding the league leaders to a draw, the Foals beat high flying VfB Stuttgart 3-1 just two weeks ago as attacking midfielder Robin Hack scored a brace. They are happy to sit deep and concede possession, with less than 30 per cent possession against Stuttgart but four shots to two on target. Against Leverkusen Borussia withstood an avalanche of attacks and they will be hard to break down again with the confidence of a clean sheet for their defence.

The visitors will be up against it again on Saturday and they will play on the break; and top scorer Allasane Plea, with seven goals and four assists, will be the main threat while his French compatriot Franck Honorat is a man to watch; he has made six assists and can find the killer ball to open up a defence.    

History

With 29 wins to 19 the Bavarians have had the better of the head to heads against Monchengladbach and they won an early season clash 2-1 as Mathys Tel completed a comeback after the Foals had taken an early lead.

And with four wins, one draw and one defeat Bayern are in better form than their visitors who have won two, drawn two and lost two.

Betting Tip

At 1.12 to win this game Bayern are hot favourites, with Monchengladbach at 11.08 and the draw is at 7.34. Tuchel’s team should pass this test and keep the pressure up on Leverkusen; but the Foals have picked up two impressive results recently and can play without the pressure of a relegation battle or a rush for the top six.

For an alternative bet Borussia +2.50 will pay a price of 1.86 but I think the better value is in a game with three goals or fewer.

 

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