Bayern München - 1899 Hoffenheim

The last match of Round 19 is a special one above all the big class difference between both sides makes this encounter very interesting. Leader Bayern Munich is looking for their 10. home win while 1899 Hoffenheim is getting more and more in trouble. They are already 4 Points behind the safe zone and losing more and more to the teams above. In this case they are almost in a situation where they must win otherwise they are close to get relegated this Season.

League Leader Bayern Munich is not only one step ahead of the other teams in the league, no they are already two or three. They have a really great squad and if they miss one or two it is not necessary for them as they have a lot in back who has almost the same class. The squad is very well balanced and all positions are double manned. Therefore Coach Guardiola can choose from a lot and he has the skills to find the right system and tactical instruction for his team to overcome every opponent so far. Against bottom side Hoffenheim he must expect a very deep defending opponent again. If they can score an early one it would be very helpful for their game but if not they are always able to score 3-4 goals as they can not be controlled or defend all the game.

The injury from Boateng in central back is a big blow for the team from Bayern but with Martinez they should have the right replacement for the upcoming matches. Also Robben has not reached his top level and should be on bench again while Coman takes his place. He showed a really great performance in Hamburg and therefore should start. Costa is back after a long absent in December and can help to bring the offensive play forward today too. They have still some unavailable players with Ribery, Götze, Benatia and Rafinha but the starting lineup and the bench should be strong enough anyway.

The situation is getting very bad in Hoffenheim as they have already 5 Points to place 16. and 7 to the safe zone. This is almost a must to get Points but a draw is to less if they want not to lose more ground to the teams above. They are at the bottom with Hannover 96 and both teams look like relegation candidates this Season. After they have sold their best offensive player Firmino to Liverpool in the summer they have not the offensive power and class in their play so far. This player was the fix point of their play and with his actions and idea he was a guarantee for Points for 1899 Hoffenheim. But he is not available anymore and they must try to find the right balance and players for the offensive play. It is very hard as most of the players are very young and have a lot ups and downs at this age. To begin under Gisdol they tried with Zuber a guy behind the attackers but he disappointed. Under new Coach Stevens Amiri was the man behind but he got injured and in the first match against Leverkusen Stevens gave Hamad his trust who scored immediately but showed also that he has a lot of improvements. For this reason they are searching for an experienced player for this position but if they buy one they stopped the process from the youngsters in their career. All of them has to learn a lot but at the moment it is not the time, they need players which can walk on and give the team stability and hope that they can avoid relegation as some years ago. 
Some problems arrived additional in central midfield because with Schwegler and Polanski are two experienced players out for today. Also Stobl was ill and returned into training on thursday but it is not sure if he is at 100%. In offensive they miss with Elyounoussi also a very quick guy. Of course Stevens has some options with Bicakcic for Schär in central back, Amiri for Hamad in central midfield also Zuber and Kuranyi are back in the squad. 

The leader Bayern Munich against bottom team Hoffenheim should be a clear thing above all in Munich in their arena where they always showed great matches and scored a lot. I can not see any other outcome as the win from Bayern and of course with at least a margin of 3 goals of more. The pressure will be very high all the match and Hoffenheim can not hold all away above all they are getting more and more tired and this produce a lot of mistakes too. The defensive play is not the best anyway from 1899 and they conceded always and their offensive play is harmless as mentioned above. Bayern has all the weapons they need to win this match comfortable. Let's roll .....

PICK: Bayern Munich AHC -2,5 @ 1,84 (3 Units / Flat Stake)

FSV Mainz 05 - Bor. M'Gladbach

It was not so much what Mainz showed against Ingolstadt. They were not able to put some pressure on Ingolstadt all the game and additional had no real idea how to overcome this defensive minded team. In first game they was absolutely dominated from Ingolstadt and the 0-1 lose was deserved, this time they were not dominated but at least controlled from Ingolstadt and lost again 0-1 due to a doubtful penalty. Overall they should weak up and looking forward to the next matches but they have to invest much more to get something out of the games. Maybe this time it can be a bit better because with Gladbach they get an active team who wants to play offensive and not to sit back and wait what the opponent is doing and defending only. In this case they get more space for their offensive play and their fast and quick players.

Coach Schmitt can make a few changes compared to the game in Ingolstadt. He has a lot to choose form as he has almost all players ready and this gave him a lot of options. In offensive should Muto return into the attack as they were really harmless without him last match. Also the wings need more power what let some players hope to start. 

After a great run under Schubert with only 1 defeat since he took over from Favre they got the 2nd lose which was absolutely deserved. Dortmund was dominating the game really well and if they have used all their good opportunities the win should have been much higher. Gladbach was suffering a bit and with some key players absent they were not able to be as dominant in midfield as they can. They gave the whole midfield away and this was maybe key, also their defensive had a lot of problems with the fast play from Dortmund. With a very young central back not a big surprise anyway. Despite this lose they have still a lot of quality in their rows but Coach Schubert must find the right mix and balance for the upcoming matches. The fight for an international spot is key for Gladbach and their biggest aim this Season, of course.

Normally Coach Schubert has a lot to choose from but this time he has some problems to get a good starting eleven on the pitch. With Dominguez and Jantschke he miss two starters for the defensive line, in central midfield Xhaka suspended, on the offensive wing Herrmann and Hahn and additional Schulz who is new from Hertha BSC but has not so many minutes this Season. The next big problem is Dahoud who face a hand injury and can not play maybe what some media said. This is a big blow as with him the whole central midfield is out (Xhaka and Dahoud). In this case it would be interesting what Schubert field here, also in central back who get his trust there. In offensive some options are possible because with Hofmann he has a good player in the back.

Eintracht Frankfurt - VfL Wolfsburg

Very interesting game between Eintracht Frankfurt who is in relegation trouble and VfL Wolfsburg who is looking for an international spot again. With a win Frankfurt can make a big step forward and minimize the pressure in the upcoming weeks a bit while Wolfsburg stands already under pressure if they do not want to lose more space to the top 4. This is a must win game for them otherwise they face some difficult weeks.

The situation was getting very worse at the end of the year for Frankfurt. They tried to solve some of the problems with new signings like Huszti, Ayhan and Fabian. It looks like that two of the guys are already in starting lineup for the game against Wolfsburg. Coach Veh was trying to find the best balance and system for his team to be prepared for the relegation battle where Eintracht is involved now. They need more compactness at to the end of last year and this is very important for Coach Veh now. The offensive power should be there with players like Huszti, Fabian, Meier, Stendera. Also Aigner can be an option there but should start from bench according to last test performances. With Zambrano back in squad he can start as central back again and allow Veh to move Russ forward into the midfield while Hasebe can play on the back wing. This should help the team to get more compactness. On what system Veh count is a little bit open but it can be 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2. Although they have still some players injured they get a very good starting eleven on the pitch and with Aigner as joker they have one weapon on bench who can bring some power in second half with his quickness.

The preparation in Portugal was very good for Wolfsburg and they had best conditions there. According to their weak offensive play to the end of last year Coach Hecking was trying to bring some new fire in their offensive part. He wants to see his team to press much higher now and bring the opponent more and more in danger but if they stand much higher it can be that they concede some goals more. This knows Hecking of course but he wants to be more active with his team now and not so sit back and wait what the opponent is doing. His aim is to reach one of the first four places and for this they are working very hard. Despite their good conditions in Portugal they had some problems too with ill or injured players like keeper Benaglio who could play only in one friendly. Also in midfield they have with Arnold and Gustavo two guys doubtful. If both must pass it is very open who plays beside Guilavogui. It looks like that Träsch has to move from the wing into the middle. This is not the best solution as he did a great job on the back wing position. In attack they have also problems with the huge injury from top striker Dost because Bendtner has not the form at the moment to replace him. In this case Hecking plans with Schürrle as attacker maybe. All three Kruse, Draxler and Schürrle showed great form and they should bring Wolfsburg on track for the second half of the Season.

Of course this is a very tricky one but with Wolfsburg having problems in all their parts of the team it can be the chance for Frankfurt to get a result here. Above all the miss from key striker Dost can be a problem because they have not real replacement for him at the moment. An additional factor can be the home crowd for Frankfurt too and Wolfsburg celebrated only 1 away win this Season against newcomer Darmstadt. So we trust and believe in Eintracht today.

PICK: Eintracht Frankfurt AHC +0,5 @ 1,83 (3 Units / Flat Stake)

Bor. M'Gladbach - Borussia Dortmund

The top match of Round 18 takes place in Borussia Park between Borussia M’Gladbach and Borussia Dortmund. An absolutely top clash between these two teams where a lot of goals should be delivered. In this case it can be a very entertaining game, of course. But after the winter break it is not sure in what condition both are already. Absolutely sure is that Gladbach wants revenge for the 0-4 in first game. This time they should be much better prepared and in shape as well as in this match. Also at home they are unbeaten in 6 matches against Dortmund and have a good record too.

After an awful begin of the Season and 5 defeats in a row Coach Favre left the club and Schubert took over, with him they had an incredible run and could close the gap to the international places. They are looking forward to continue the run where they lost only 1 time with Schubert and get an international spot in the end of the Season. It should be possible because the team looked very balanced and they strength it with Hofmann from Dortmund and Hinteregger from RB Salzburg additional. It was important to do this transfers according to their big injury list with a lot of missing, additional to this list (Dominguez, Hahn, Herrmann, Jantschke and Schulz) they have 1 suspended players too. This player is key midfield and captain Xhaka. He was replaced well in last game but against Dortmund it can be much more different to find the right mix for Schubert. Absolutely open is if new signing Hofmann starts already against his old team mates or if he is on bench first while Hinteregger is for sure not an option for the starting lineup because of condition problems.

Dortmund wants to be Bayern's biggest rival but for this they have to win matches otherwise they lose more and more space to the leader. They must hope that Bayern Munich has the same weak second half what they had the last two years under Guardiola. Of course they were strong but lost some Points. All in Dortmund hopes that they can close the gap to the leader but for this they have to play a really strong second half and lose not much Points. Therefore they have to continue the run they started in preparation where they won all their friendly matches. They showed very good early form and this can be key to start well into 2016. Coach Tuchel can count on his strongest lineup for this encounter. Of course they miss some with Bender, Sahin, Schmelzer and Durm. Also with Kagawa and Ramos missed two players some training sessions this week due to illness. Both are not an option for the starting lineup because for Kagawa plays Castro who had a great preparation so far. The second one Ramas is only a bench player anyway and not so important at all. All the other top weapons are ready for Dortmund.

Hamburger SV - Bayern München

This is the opener for the second half of the Season in Germany between Hamburger SV and Bayern Munich. Both sides with different aims but nevertheless it could be an interesting and exciting one. In their own stadium Hamburg managed some surprises in recent years although they are far away from the class Bayern Munich’s or Dortmund. It is always difficult to play there for these teams but if all go the normal way they should have no chance anyway. This is not the opponent they must collect Points, it is more an additional gift if.

The start into the new year was not as expected for Hamburg. It was almost seen to the end of last year that they have some problems with the team, also result showed this too. This continues this year and their preparation for this part of the Season was not so well. A lot of problems with their training sessions according to not available players due to injury or illness. In every Session Coach Labbadia has missed at least 3 up to 8 players, what makes it not possible to train well. In all parts of the team they miss players above all in attack Lasogga is a big miss with his shoulder injury and if he can not start against Bayern it is terrible for HSV. It is also very open if Coach Labbadia risk some with his doubtful players like Lasogga or Djourou because they are needed in the upcoming matches. Manager Beiersdorfer is searching for a good and well replacement but with the financial problems they can not make big steps. He mentioned additional that he expect a really hard second half and he warned already to invest all possible energy to bring this Season to a good end. The friendlies said not all but it was a really sign with losing all against Young Boys Bern 1-2, RW Erfurt 1-2 and Ajax Amsterdam 1-3. According to the actual form and squad they have to improve a lot if they do not want to start very bad and getting more and more problems. Of course they are still 7 Points ahead of the red zone but this can be gone fast.

The league leader was in Qatar for preparation to second half of the Season. They want to win all competition because it is the last half year with Guardiola on the sideline as Coach. He left the club after this Season and the new man for Season 16/17 is Carlo Ancelotti. Nevertheless some time to go with Pep and also a lot of work to do. They were preparing some other options for the upcoming matches if in league, Cup or CL. Some of the players are back like Douglas Costa, Robben and Thiago who all worked hard for their fitness. Some of the guys are not ready and return later in February maybe like Götze, Ribery, Benatia and Bernat. Despite these missing Coach Guardiola can choose from much more as to the end of last year as the top weapon with Costa is back, also important Alaba returns. A lot of options now with Thiago for Vidal or Coman for Robben, last one could not train all Sessions because of some problems but he said that he is ready or Badstuber for Martinez. In all parts of the team they have really good replacements and with the guys above back additional it should be a hard fight for the positions. If they can overcome the opponents so easy as in first half of the Season it must be seen as they had shown some weakness in all their Seasons with Guardiola in second half. The wake up call was already there because the only friendly they played was against 2.BL team KSC and they lost 1-2 with their strongest eleven. They did really hard and played not so fresh and well as in all the games recently. In this game got Rafinha injured and he should be not available for the game against HSV as well. 

Germany 1.BL Round 18

Round 18

22.01.2016 -- 20:30  Hamburger SV - Bayern München

23.01.2016 -- 15:30  1.FC Köln - VfB Stuttgart

23.01.2016 -- 15:30  Hannover 96 - SV Darmstadt 98

23.01.2016 -- 15:30  Hertha BSC Berlin - FC Augsburg

23.01.2016 -- 15:30  1899 Hoffenheim - Bayer Leverkusen

23.01.2016 -- 15:30  FC Ingolstadt 04 - FSV Mainz 05

23.01.2016 -- 18:30  Bor. M'Gladbach - Borussia Dortmund

24.01.2016 -- 15:30  Eintracht Frankfurt - VfL Wolfsburg

24.01.2016 -- 17:30  FC Schalke 04 - Werder Bremen

We are very happy to have the German Soccer back from winter break soon. According to this we preparing already for the first games and we will be up with a few posts in the upcoming weeks. 

Have a nice time until then.