It’s probably premature to call Saturday’s showdown between Borussia and Bayern at the Westfalenstadion a six-pointer, especially given the Bundlesliga season is a mere ten games old.
But it is tough, even at this embryonic stage of the season, to see the home side halting Munich’s charge to what would be a sixth successive title if they get turned over this weekend.
See what football betting expert Iain Spragg has to say about this upcoming Germanic clash…
It was just last month that Dortmund were flying high, five points clear of their perennial rivals and proudly perched at the top of the table.
Fast forward a few weeks however and Munich now have a three-point advantage while Borussia are in a dramatic domestic as well as European freefall.
Bayern’s renaissance is all down to Jupp Heynckes.
He replaced Carlo Ancelotti in October for his fourth managerial stint with the club and, since the wily 72-year-old was welcomed back, the defending champions have picked up maximum Bundesliga points to reignite their familiar title challenge.
Dortmund’s alarming downward spiral began when Peter Bosz’s team were beaten at home by RB Leipzig in mid-October, their first league defeat of the campaign, and they have failed to win in the Bundesliga ever since.
There’s a smaller training group at Säbener today, with @lewy_official, @JuanBernat and a number of reserve players working together 👍 pic.twitter.com/OuvL2onvwv
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) November 2, 2017
Saturday’s clash, therefore, is one between a side which has rediscovered its mojo and one which has almost overnight been robbed of all confidence.
Wednesday nights’ humiliating 1-1 draw in the Champions League with Cypriot minnows APOEL Nicosia only underlined Borussia’s current malaise.
The odds perfectly reflect the two teams’ recent form.
With Bosz’s boys 9/4 outsiders despite home advantage while Bayern are strong favourites at 26/25.
Bosz would perhaps take the draw right now to avoid picking up his P45 and it’s 14/5 on the rivals sharing the points this weekend.
A 1-0 win for Dortmund is 16/1 and would take them back above Heynckes’s side on goal difference while a reverse of that scoreline is shorter at 12/1.
A 2-2 stalemate – a repeat of the result between the pair when they met in the German Super Cup in August – is 19/2.
The stage is seemingly set for Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski to make hay at the Signal Iduna Park, assuming he’s recovered from the minor thigh injury that kept him out of the Celtic game in midweek.
The Bundesliga’s joint top scorer with 10 is 3/4 to score on Saturday and 3/1 to net first against his former employers.
The prolific Pole is currently tied with Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the top of the scoring charts.
But the Gabon international is priced marginally longer given he’s playing in a side in crisis.
It’s 21/20 on Aubameyang being on target on Saturday and 17/4 on him drawing first blood against the champions.
🗯 “Chin up, work hard, fight, and keep going” 👉 https://t.co/KtJDzRallS pic.twitter.com/Y2ZsdjxgZS
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) November 2, 2017
Dortmund have actually scored more league goals than Bayern courtesy of their strong start and forward Max Philipp, the club’s second-best marksmen in the Bundesliga this season with five, is 13/5 to add to his tally.
Former Chelsea star André Schürrle is a 23/10 shot while Portugal defender Raphaël Guerreiro, who got the goal against Nicosia on Wednesday night, is 21/2 to make it two in two.
Bayern’s hopes of breaking down the opposition defence invariably rest with the aforementioned Lewandowski and the next shortest priced player likely to be on show on Saturday is Arjen Robben, the flying Dutchman a 13/8 shot to score.
Colombian James Rodríguez, on loan from Real Madrid, is 39/20 to get his this third goal for his foster family while midfielder Javi Martínez is 17/2 to be on target after netting the winner at Celtic Park in midweek.
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