TOM LOVEYS (@ValueBetMethods) analyses the odds ahead of Wednesday night's Bundesliga card.
Bayer Leverkusen v Augsburg | Wednesday 19.00
Leverkusen entertain Augsburg this Wednesday after facing a bit of a mixed bag to start the Bundesliga campaign.
Bayer are used to being at the top end of the Bundesliga but find themselves 11th after three games, with two losses already under their belts. Last Saturday’s defeat at Frankfurt was especially galling as Javier Hernandez missed an 88th minute penalty to nick a point.
Having said that, Leverkusen are a dominant side at home, having won 13 of their last 20 at the BayArena and will want to bounce back straight away.
Augsburg are now led under the guidance of Dirk Schuster, who oversaw Darmstadt’s successful Bundesliga spell last year and sit in 13th in the table with a comeback win against Bremen and two defeats to Wolfsburg and at home to Mainz last Sunday.
After getting back into the game on Sunday, Schuster will be disappointed how his side conceded so quickly after and will want to tighten things up against one of the Bundesliga’s leading sides.
Augsburg’s recent record against Bayer is pretty reasonable, unbeaten in the last three meetings, although all ended up as draws.
It could be an early game of cat and mouse, as Augsburg look to be tight at the back and Bayer sound out their rivals early on. I like the look of the draw at half-time (8/5-Stan James) which has been a winner in 11/20 Bayer home games and 8/20 on Augsburg’s travels.
Schalke v Koln | Wednesday 19.00
Markus Weinzierl has the unwelcome distinction of being the first Schalke manager to lose his first three games in charge and the Royal Blues are desperate to get some points on the board.
Only the shambolic affairs at Bremen are preventing the Gelsenkirchen outfit from propping up the division.
They may have a hard time against a very resilient Koln team who come off an impressive 3-0 home victory against Freiburg last Friday.
Schalke looked pretty one-dimensional against a well-drilled Hertha, although it took a couple of defensive lapses to open the game up, Weinzierl will be ensuring his side don’t take their eye off the ball again.
Koln, along with Wolfsburg are yet to concede a Bundesliga goal this term, having 2-0, 0-0 and 3-0 results already this season. The Billy Goats will ensure a tough game and all the pressure with be on Weinzierl’s outfit.
Koln’s record against Schalke is pretty impressive with three victories in the last four meetings and they’ll be eyeing up a victory against rivals who may be lacking in confidence.
Koln +0.50 on the Asian Handicap is priced up at 41/50 (188Bet), which means our bet will be a winner if the Billy Goats avoid defeat.
With five wins and 10 draws in the last 20 games away from Cologne and coupled up with the pressure that Schalke will undoubtedly feel, this may represent the sensible selection on Wednesday night.
Best Bets
Bayer Leverkusen v Augsburg – half-time draw (8/5 Stan James)
Schalke v Koln – Koln +0.50 Asian Handicap (41/50 188BET)
