BUNDESLIGA fanatic Jonny O'Sullivan (@libero_the) has taken a deep dive into Matchday 20 from Germany, picking out his best bets.
Last weekend, Erling Haaland again dominated proceedings as the Norwegian striker is looking like an even bigger threat to all Bundesliga defences than was anticipated. His half-an-hour cameo for Dortmund against Koln produced two more goals, which came from insane composure for a young man playing in front of the Yellow Wall.
Schalke's recent good form came to a devastating halt as Bayern Munich look to be picking up pace as they head towards the latter stages of the season. The Bavarians incoming keeper did not feature and the cover for him was quite painful to watch. Markus Schubert was lucky to escape Munich with just the five goals conceded and it two of the goals were extremely poor goalkeeping.
Bayern and Dortmund's form coincided with an unusual collapse from Leipzig. Despite completely dominating the match, they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Frankfurt, who love nothing more than embarrassing the big boys in Germany. Meanwhile, an insane goal from Alessane Plea (did he mean it or not remains the question) helped Borussia Monchengladbach keep up with the big boys of the league.
At the bottom of the league, Paderborn got a crucial win whilst Werder Bremen and Fortuna Dusseldorf continued their miserable seasons. The more you watch Bremen, the more you think that they are destined for the drop this season as they are completely devoid of any attacking potency.
RB Leipzig v Borussia Monchengladbach | Saturday 1st February 2020, 17:30 | BT Sport
RB Leipzig's result last weekend was out of the ordinary. If that game was played again 100 times, Leipzig would probably win 90+ times with a considerable degree of ease. They were the better side and it was an inspired performance from Kevin Trapp and Frankfurt's clinical edge in front of goal that robbed RB of all three points.
Last time out against Gladbach, Leipzig absolutely slaughtered the Foals. It was just before Gladbach hit their good patch of form and Timo Werner, in particular, was in devastating form. His pace was a huge problem for the hosts, and they could not deal with the counterattack.
Werner has resumed this form for the entirety of the season so far and it would be a surprise to see him go two games in a row without finding the net.
Gladbach have failed to win away from home in their last four Bundesliga games now and in all honesty, in those games, they have not really looked like they were ever in danger of grabbing all three points.
It would be a surprise if Gladbach can produce a better performance away from home than they managed in the reverse fixture, which is a pivotal reason why it seems like a comfortable home win seems ominous.
The worst time to play a beast, like Leipzig, is when they are wounded. Back the hosts to cover a -1 handicap at 13/10 (Betfred).
Mainz v Bayern Munich | Saturday 1st February 2020, 14:30
With Bayern Munich on fire and steamrolling their way to the latter stages of the season, Hansi Flick appears to have found the recipe for success for Bayern to fight to retain the title in a season which is more competitive than ever.
A key reason for this is not a young talent who has managed to break into the team, it is a legend in German football, Thomas Muller. The man who had a role named after him on Football Manager, the Raumdeuter. Translated from German to English to mean the ‘Space Investigator', Muller has already left his legacy on the game by being a truly unique footballer.
Muller appears to be back to his best. Four goals and 12 assists this season is truly phenomenal with only Kevin De Bruyne registering more assists in Europe’s top five leagues. However, two goals in his last two suggest that Muller is back to doing what he made his name for; scoring goals via smart finishing and clever movement.
Muller has scored five goals in 15 matches against Mainz and it would be a wise bet suggest that the World Cup winner could find the back of the net, once again. He's 11/8 (SkyBet) to do so.
Best Bets
RB Leipzig v Borussia Monchengladbach – RB Leipzig -1 (13/10 Betfred)
Mainz v Bayern Munich – Thomas Muller to score at anytime (11/8 SkyBet)
