Matchday 21 – Betting Tips

Odds below from Coral

2.Bundesliga fans were relieved when the league returned last week after a good month and a half winter break. Normal service was quickly resumed, with leaders Braunschweig beating Paderborn away 2-1 and Hertha destroying Regensburg 5-1, with all goals coming in the 2^nd half. Third place Kaiserslautern beat 1860 Munchen away on Monday night with a late winner and Union Berlin kept up their recent impressive run, comfortably turning over struggling Sandhausen last Friday night.

These results maintain Braunschweig’s 2 point lead over Hertha, who are a further 10 points clear of Kaiserslautern in third. At the other end of the table, Regensburg remain rooted on 13 points, with Sandhausen and Dresden, the other teams immediately above and in trouble.

The pick of the games for Matchday 21 (well certainly for me) is the Berlin Derby at the Olympic Stadium on Monday night. Union fans will fancy their chances and will be after revenge after beating defeated, perhaps slightly unluckily, by their city neighbours in September last year. The preview and full betting selections for this game will follow later in the week.

Leaders Braunschweig take on Aalen on Friday night, with third place Kaiserslautern hosting Dresden. At the foot of the league, Regensburg travel to Bochum and Sandhausen host St. Pauli.

Best Bets: (Industry Best Prices as of 6^th February 2013)

Cottbus take on FC Koln on Saturday and we like the look of the home side to take all three points at an inviting 13/10. Cottbus are effective in front of their home fans at the Stadion Der Freundschaft and Koln have been a nightmare to try and predict, having started terribly, before finding a little form. Cottbus will be keen to keep pace with the leaders, and despite recent poor 2.Bundesliga form, in striker Boubacar Sanogo, they have a striker who can help them win the game, having scored 10 times already this season.

1860 Munchen were incredibly unlucky not to take at least a point against Kaiserslautern last Monday night, having had plenty of the game’s best chances. They travel to Duisburg, who have moved up to 14^th after a dreadful opening to the season, losing 6 out of their first 7 games. 1860 have brought in Rob Friend on loan from E.Frankfurt to boost the firepower and Malik Fathi to help tighten the defence. As these new players settle down, we’d expect a strong showing from the away side and looking at the ‘Draw No Bet’ market, 1860 make appeal at Evens.

Finally, despite Sandhausen’s lowly status in the league, their home form has been pretty solid. The Hardtwaldstadion with a capacity of only 10k, will be a strange place for St.Pauli to visit. Sandhausen have a match-winner in Frank Loning, who has notched 7 this season and whilst this may not be the obvious bet of the weekend. Sandhausen ‘Draw No Bet’ at 6/4 is our selection against a St.Pauli side that have yet to reach the heights expected of them.

The above are the best bets for me, but I’ve looked at every game to give a selection for each, all being Evens or above.

Plenty to keep 2.Bundesliga fans entertained from Friday through to Monday.

Thanks for reading, good luck with any bets and enjoy the games.