BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH host Borussia Dortmund in Friday night's standout showdown from the Bundesliga. Jack Wright (@JackWright_BSB) is on-hand to preview his favourite fancies.
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Borussia Dortmund | Friday 22nd January 2021, 19:30 | BT Sport
Should Marco Rose be keen on becoming the new Borussia Dortmund head coach, as has been heavily touted, he will have the perfect opportunity to impress his prospective new employers as he welcomes them to Borrussia-Park for this Friday night clash.
Current interim manager Edin Terzic won four of his first five games in charge but will need his team to bounce back after taking just one point from the last two fixtures, a disappointing 1-1 home draw with Mainz followed by granting a first league win in four to UCL qualification rivals Bayer Leverkusen.
A return to the form, and performance, which saw Dortmund impressive 3-1 winners at RB Leipzig in the game prior to those two poor efforts will be needed here against a Gladbach side with only one Bundesliga defeat in their own stadium this campaign.
The home side have won three of their last four games (W3, D1, L0) all by a single goal, with an incredible victory over champions Bayern included in that run, despite finding themselves two goals down inside the opening 26 minutes.
Die Fohlen have only conceded the opening goal in three of their 17 league games so far, one of which was in the defeat in the reverse fixture at Signal Iduna Park and was also the only time this season they have failed to find the back of the net – scoring first here could be crucial.
The visitors have a poor record when falling behind to the first goal of a game this term, picking up just five points (W1, D2, L5) from the eight occasions they have found themselves in that position – seven of those have been in the last ten matches.
However, score first and BVB are fearsome – winning eight of the nine contests where they have been responsible for breaking the deadlock.
Bizarrely, for a side packed with attacking talent, who started the season with title aspirations and although looking to be falling short of that still find themselves in fourth place, they are yet to win a first half on the road in the Bundesliga this campaign. (D5, L4) – incredibly only scoring once.
With 15 second half away goals it is no surprise to see that Dortmund have won six of their nine away games on their travels and with Gladbach unbeaten in nine home first halves, but having won both 45’s only once, scoring both sides of the interval only twice that’s why, in a game I find impossible to call a winner, I am going to take Dortmund to win the second half at odds of 6/4 with Sport Nation.
Three points here will see the home side replace their guests in the final UCL qualification place and in doing so end a run of 12 consecutive competitive head-to-head defeats – shutting off the supply line to 12 goal top scorer Erling Haaland will be crucial to this mission.
The 20-year-old hot property scored a brace in both aforementioned defeats of Leipzig and Monchengladbach – he really does seem to get himself up for the big games and Bet365 go as short as 2/1 for him to make it a ninth game in all competitions this season where he has scored at least twice – SkyBet are top price at 9/2.
For those wanting a safer option PokerStars are offering 11/10 for the Norway international to have two or more shots on target. Those prices seem a little short for me so instead I am siding with another player who seems to consistently rise to the bigger occasion.
Florian Neuhaus scored the winning goal in that five-goal thriller over Bayern Munich but it his tackling stats that have caught my eye this season.
The 23-year-old German midfielder has made 26 tackles from 15 Bundesliga starts including four in that aforementioned clash with the Bavarians and two last time out against Dortmund a number he has managed in 13 of his 21 starts (62%) and interestingly in five of six UCL games where he has made 16 in total – highlighting his fondness for the more intense clash.
Odds of 4/5 with PokerStars are shorter than my normal selections here but I think still offer a smidgeon of value – for a bolder option visit Ladbrokes Bet Builder and select 5+ tackles for a 12/1 poke – something our man has achieved on two occasions this season.
With Dortmund topping the possession stats seeing 59.5% of the ball on average this term and having had 55% in this fixture last season Neuhaus could be kept busy and therefore have a good chance of hitting those higher lines.
Best Bets
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Borussia Dortmund – Borussia Dortmund to win the second half (6/4 Sport Nation)
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Borussia Dortmund – Florian Neuhaus to have 2 or more tackles (4/5 PokerStars)
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Borussia Dortmund – Florian Neuhaus to have 5 or more tackles (12/1 Ladbrokes)
