Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund 2/8/20 German Bundesliga Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction
Bayer Leverkusen is hosting Borussia Dortmund at BayArena in the derby match of round 21 of German Bundesliga.
Bayer has been playing solid soccer as of late and has lost only 1 of their last 5 games, with scoring at least 1 goal in their last 7 games. Bayer’s defense hasn’t been that good this season, and Bayer has conceded at least one goal in 5 of their last 7 games. Earlier this week Bayer was playing a match in DFB Pokal against Stuttgart and has won 2-1. In Bundesliga, Bayer is in 5th place with 34 points, 31 scored goals, and 24 conceded goals, and Bayer is still in the hunt for the Champions League spot. In their last Bundesliga game against Hoffenheim away from home, Bayer Leverkusen was the better team with 65% of ball possession, 11 shots on goal, 10 corner kicks, and 82% of the correct passes. Leverkusen had the early lead in this game, but unfortunately for them, Hoffenheim was able to turn this game around and has won 2-1. Leverkusen has actually been better away from home than at home this season. Kevin Volland has scored 7 goals and added 6 assists for Leverkusen this season, while Alario added 6 goals. Aranguiz, Palacios, and Paulinho are injured and will not be in the lineup for this match. Overall, Bayer is a good, young team with solid coach in Peter Bosz, but the problem for Bayer is that if they don’t qualify for the Champions League next season, Bayer might be forced to sell most of the young stars they have and then everything Bayer has accomplished in the last two seasons will be for nothing. Bayer is also playing in the Europa League where they will face Porto, usually a solid team, but they haven’t been playing well lately and I believe that Leverkusen can come out as a winner from this matchup.
Borussia is playing fantastic soccer right now and has scored 15 goals in their last 3 Bundesliga games. Like that isn’t big enough, Borussia’s latest signing Erling Haaland has scored 7 goals in his first 3 games for Borussia Dortmund. With these three wins in Bundesliga, Borussia has quickly closed the gap between them, Bayern Munich, and Leipzig, and is now in 3rd place in the standings with 39 points, massive 56 scored goals, and 28 conceded goals. I don’t think there is a team in Europe I enjoy watching more than Borussia Dortmund right now, except maybe Liverpool. In the Champions League, Borussia will face PSG and I can’t find a reason why Borussia wouldn’t be able to win this matchup because they have the quality, they have the game, and Borussia has the depth. In the DFB Pokal against Werder earlier this week, Borussia wasn’t so lucky despite being the much better team and they lost 3-2. In Borussia’s latest Bundesliga match last weekend against Union Berlin, Borussia has had 66% of ball possession, 7 shots on goal, 5 corner kicks, and high 90% of accurate passes. Borussia had an amazing game and has deservedly won this match 5-0. Sancho has scored 12 goals and added 12 assists for Dortmund this season, while Reus added 11 goals, but unfortunately, he is injured and will miss the next few games. Before the season started, I was hoping that Borussia could take the title from Bayern, but up until now, Borussia hasn’t been convincing. Now once again, I believe that Borussia will win the title after years of being behind Bayern. The fun thing in Bundesliga this season is that the battle for the title is not just between Bayern and Borussia because Leipzig and M’gladbach are playing really well this season and are legit candidates for the title. There is still a lot of games left and we will see which team will be able to keep the form up the longest.
I’m giving the advantage to Borussia here, but in a game between two teams like Leverkusen and Borussia whose defenses are still not playing consistent, but the offenses are firing on all cylinders, I will always bet on goals.
Goran’s Pick Both teams to score and over 3.5 +115
AUTHOR: Goran Kucar
Follow Goran Kucar on Twitter @GoranKucar