VfL Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund aim to keep the pressure up at the top of the Bundesliga table on Saturday when they head to Wolfsburg, hoping to close the gap to leaders Bayern Munich to three points, before the Bavarians host TSG Hoffenheim on Sunday.
Nico Kovac’s Dortmund inched closer to the league leaders thanks to a 3-2 win over Heidenheim on Sunday after Bayern had been held to a draw in Hamburg a day earlier. Meanwhile, Daniel Bauer’s Wolfsburg slipped closer to the drop zone after a 1-0 defeat away to Cologne, a result which left the Wolves just a single point above FSV Mainz on 16th.
So Bundesliga: Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund is a huge match for both teams with implications at either end of the table, and the hosts need to find a huge improvement in their form if they are to get anywhere near BVB on Saturday.
Talking Points
January recruits can make Wolves harder to beat
It’s a fairly obvious statement to make I guess but, if Wolfsburg are to climb away from the danger zone they need to start picking up points on a consistent basis. Bauer has some proven quality in his squad but the team has been too easy to knock over in recent weeks. When Wolfsburg met Bayern Munich in January they were slapped 8-1 after being 1-1 midway through the first half and 2-1 at half time.
The manager moved smartly in January and has brought in two defenders to strengthen the back line, splashing out 10m Euros to bring 22-year-old Ghana star Jonas Adjetey from Swiss side FC Basel. He has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract and Adjetey will be introduced as quickly as possible to freshen up a defence which has already conceded 42 goals in the league. And he’ll be joined in the group by another centre back in the shape of Leverkusen’s Jeanuel Belocian who has arrived on loan. The France U21 star made his name at Rennes before signing for Die Werkeslf where he has made 13 appearances and, at the age of 20 Belocian is a great prospect who needs to get top-flight games under his belt.
With the defence looking stronger the Wolves’ creative unit can hopefully play with more freedom, and the experienced Christian Eriksen can create chances for the attacking duo of Patrick Wimmer and Dzenan Pejcinovic.
Goal happy BVB
This could be a good time for Wolfsburg to shore up their defence because they are about to meet a team which is full of goals, scoring three in each of their last four league games. Die Schwarzgelben have laboured in the Champions League over the last few weeks but they are till fighting, with a play-off place to come, while taking out their frustration on their Bundesliga opposition. After beating Werder Bremen and St Pauli, 3-0 and 3-2, Dortmund entered their clash with Union Berlin on the back of a humbling defeat to Tottenham Hotpsur, and they responded with a 3-0 win, with goals from captain Emre Can, centre back Nico Schlotterbeck and forward Max Beier. Then, after losing to Inter Milan, BVB bounced back again by beating Heidenheim 3-2, this time recovering from a 2-1 deficit thanks to a double from Serhou Guirassy. The Guinean hit-man scored twice in two minutes to win the game but he spurned a golden chance to score a hat-trick when he scooped a Panenka over the crossbar.
Kovac will be delighted with his striker’s confidence, but if BVB are to push Bayern all the way, then Guirassy will need to be clinical.
History
With 30 wins to ten from their last 47 encounters, Die Schwarzgelben have had much the better of the head-to-head Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund results and they have won 14 to six at the Volkswagen Arena, including a 3-1 win there last season. And when the two teams met in September at the Signal Iduna Park a Karim Adeyemi screamer gave BVB a 1-0 win.
With one win, one draw and four defeats from the last six games the Wolves have lost their bite, while Dortmund have won four in the league and lost those two Champions League games. And the Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund betting odds predict more misery for Wolfsburg on Sunday.
Betting Tip
Dortmund are the hot favourites to win this clash at SBOTOP odds of 1.72 while the Wolves can be backed at a price of 4.15, with the draw at 3.80 and the Double Chance: Wolfsburg or Draw at 2.10.
Die Schwarzgelben have serious momentum in the Bundesliga while the Wolves are dropping like a stone, and I don’t see any quick turnaround in Wolfsburg this weekend.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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