Augsburg vs Borussia Dortmund
The battle for the summit of German football kicks up another notch as the one-big gap between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are down to dangerous levels. The BVB are still considered favourites to win with the Bundesliga title, but their form as of late tell a different story.
They still have one of the best attacking units in the entire German top flight, and there should be nothing that can stop them from getting what they want. But their most recent results may have planted seeds of doubt among SBOBET punters and neutral pundits.
Augsburg should be an easy opponent for them to face, but everyone should still be on their guard ahead of this big match. Anything can happen in football, and I won’t be surprised if this ends in another frustrating draw for Lucien Favre’s boys.
This writer has doubts it will happen, but let us explore the facts of this match before making a decision.
Talking Points
Captain Reus Returns
I’m sure that the Yellow Wall aren’t the only ones frustrated from the lack of victories over their past five league games. Their draws against teams such as Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim, and Nurnberg saw their big lead over their Bavarian rivals down to just three points.
One of the reasons pundits blame for this three-game winless streak is the absence of Dortmund talisman and captain Marco Reus. The 29-year-old is leading the club with his 13 goals, and his presence against Hoffenheim and Nurnberg were badly missed.
Moreover, the Black and Yellows faltered against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League. They were completely dominated by Spurs as Son Heung-Min, Jan Vertonghen, and Fernando Llorente got the honours of beating the BVB.
However, their poor run of form doesn’t mean that they automatically struggle against Augsburg. Dortmund fans got the biggest Bundesliga 2019 news of the week when Reus was given the okay to play competitively again. He will definitely be eager to get the BVB back on track.
Moreover, They have finally ended their five-game winless streak after taking down a tough opponent in Bayer Leverkusen to keep their position in the league. If they were able to beat a tough team in Leverkusen, they should be able to handle whatever Augsburg throws at them.
Moreover, they have some of the best footballers in German soil. Jadon Sancho is still the best youngster in German football. Axel Witsel will still be a nightmare on attack and defence. While Lukasz Piszczek won’t be available to play, Achraf Hakimi and Dan-Axel Zagadou should be able to hold the backline.
Oh yeah, Paco Alcacer is still a nightmare to deal with coming from the bench.
Can Augsburg remain competitive?
Like Dortmund, Augsburg are currently on a rough patch of form, losing their last three league matches after making it past Holstein Kiel in the DFB Pokal. They are only two points away from the danger zone, and they definitely need to pull off an upset and steal a point against the BVB.
They have enough reason to believe that they can do it: the Fuggerstadter managed to play toe-to-toe with Bayern Munich at the WWK Arena in what was a very entertaining match. If they can play like this against Dortmund, then they will have a chance to spoil the party.
However, Their superb performance against Bayern was sandwiched between two terrible outings. Werder Bremen had their way with Augsburg as they cruised to a 4-0 win in front of their home fans. Augsburg also played terrible football against Freiburg, but they at least managed a consolation goal in a 5-1 stomping.
This can be viewed as Augsburg struggling to play away from their home grounds, and that is absolutely understandable. However, I don’t know if they can just hope that they contain a team as strong as Dortmund.
West Ham loanee Reece Oxford may be struggling to get things going in Germany, but he must put in a great performance to fill the shoes of Martin Hinteregger, who left the club for Frankfurt in the January window. Alfred Finnbogason and Jonathan Schmid will be relied upon to create for the team.
History
The two clubs haven’t played each other plenty of times, their first meeting being in 2011. In the 11 times they have played since then, Dortmund understandably won 10 of those. Augsburg only managed to get a singular away win from the BVB, while the remaining five fixtures were draws.
Augsburg fans can take comfort in the fact that their more recent games against the BVB were relatively close affairs. Three of their last five meetings ended in 1-1 draws, and their most recent match in October saw them take Dortmund the entire nine yards before the BVB got away with a 4-3 win at the Signal Iduna Park.
Betting Tip
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Augsburg vs Borussia Dortmund | Total Goals @ 2.07 |
| March 2, 03:30 (GMT+8) |
There’s no reason to believe that Dortmund wouldn’t be able to win against their hosts. They have one of the best attacking units in the entire league, their captain is going to make a return, and they still have an amazing defensive anchor in Witsel. Even the Bundesliga 2019 odds agree with me and give Dortmund quite a handicap in the Asian Handicap market.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the WWK Arena is already a giant fortress and the BVB weren’t able to make their mark in the match. They can keep up with the best of them if they want to, and I think that will be the case here.
However, I don’t think that they will be able to hold the BVB to a 1-1 draw. I predict a late Paco Alcacer strike from just inside the 18-yard box will lead to a fantastic 2-1 victory that will keep the BVB barely at the top of the table.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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