After a 9 week wait, the Bundesliga is back with an exciting weekend of football – all being played behind closed doors of course! Sunday sees newly promoted FC Union Berlin host Bayern Munich in the capital for what looks to be an entertaining match to mark their return to the pitch.
The reigning champions will be looking to keep their 4 point gap at the top as they head to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Since winning promotion last season, Union Berlin have made quite the impression on the Bundesliga so Bayern won’t be going into this game expecting an easy ride.
Union fighting to prove their worthNewly promoted Union Berlin were expected to be the whipping boys in the Bundesliga this season but have thus far proven they are no pushovers. They currently sit 11th in the table with 30 points, 8 points clear of the drop zone many thought they would inhabit for most of the season, and just 7 points off the top 6. Union have their home form to thank for their midtable status, as 6 of their 9 league wins have come at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, including an impressive 2-0 win over then league leaders Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Bayern continue their march toward 8 in a rowDespite Dortmund, Leipzeig and Borussia Mönchengladbach all being within touching distance, Bayern will go into this game confident they notch up another win on the road to their 8th title in a row. Before the league ground to an enforced halt, Bayern were looking unstoppable having scored a whopping 38 goals in 11 games, gaining 31 points in the process – a draw against Leipzig being the only points dropped. Defensively, they kept 6 clean sheets and conceded just 6 goals in those 11 games. The break might have stopped their momentum, but Bayern shouldn’t have a problem regaining it quickly.
The history between these two sides doesn’t tell us a lot, mainly because there isn’t much. Until this season, the most recent game between them was a friendly in 2009, which Bayern won 3-1. When the two sides met in Munich earlier this season, Bayern managed just a slender 2-1 victory as Sebastian Polter pulled one back for Union in the 86th minute to give the champions an edgy end to the game. The respectable scoreline in Munich will give the hosts some hope, however they will be all too aware they’re up against a different Bayern than the one they met in October.
Balancing Bayern’s blistering pre-break form with Union’s surprise showings throughout the season, we’ve come up with our betting tip for Sunday’s match. These two teams hold very different places in the history of German football, but gap between them is currently narrower than it’s ever been.
Despite Union Berlin’s surprising resilience this season, we expect Bayern to win this tie comfortably – and to run up a decent goal tally in the process.
Bayern to win by a distanceWhile they might take some comfort in their slender 2-1 away defeat to Bayern earlier in the season, Union Berlin would be lucky to see a repeat at home. Before the enforced break, Bayern were scoring in bundles against stronger opposition, and despite exceeding expectations this season, Union have been far from airtight at the back. The Berlin side have shown some attacking capabilities, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if they were to grab a consolation goal. With Robet Lewandoski looking to further cement his position as the league’s top scorer and Serge Gnabry seeking to continue his blistering form it’s hard to see Union keeping this scoreline moderate.
With all of that in mind, our betting tip for this week is an away win and over 3.5 goals to be scored at odds of 7/5 with Coral. If we were to hazard a guess at an exact scoreline, we’d go 4-1 Bayern.
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