The Frankfurt boys will look to regain the winning thread on Friday night as they welcome Arminia Bielefeld to Deutsche Bank Park. The visitors will be looking for another positive result having now gone four games without tasting defeat.
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Friday’s visitors are currently in the best form that they’ve been in all season, losing none of their last four, picking up positive results against two top-half sides during that time. In contrast, the hosts arrive here without a win in two, and though they will take some confidence from some reasonably solid form, they’re unlikely to be feeling too good after their draw with lowly Augsburg last time out.
The early betting for this fixture shows that three or more goals is more slightly likely than less than three, though if we scratch beneath the surface, taking the opposite view may just offer a slice of value. For starters neither team has been outstanding in terms of what they’ve created in their respective home and away games. Frankfurt averages 1.42 expected goals for at home, while Arminia averages just 0.84. Additionally, less than three goals have been scored in 53% of Frankfurt’s games at Deutsche Bank Park, as well as in 68% of Bielefeld’s travelling fixtures.
For Frankfurt, the winter break probably came at the wrong time. Prior to the customary halt in Bundesliga action, Oliver Glasner’s men were in fine form having won three on the bounce, beating a few decent sides in the process, though things haven’t been the same since they re-emerged from the festive period.
In their first game back, Friday’s hosts came up short at home to Dortmund, despite scoring twice, while they were unable to regain the winning thread last time out, drawing 1-1 away against Augsburg. Defensively, progress was made, though the Frenchman in charge may have been a little disappointed with his team’s offensive output.
In general, the hosts have been hard to beat at home, losing only two out of nine, while they’ve won three of their last four at this venue, so there should still be plenty of confidence in the home dressing room ahead of Friday night’s action, especially since they’re up against relegation-threatened opposition.
It’s been a bit of a steep learning curve for the Bielefeld boys this season, but it does look like they are learning to adapt at this level. They may be third from bottom at present, but Friday’s visitors come into this fixture off the back of going four games without tasting defeat, two of which they’ve won.
Moreover, the visitors have recently picked up two very positive results away against teams that currently reside inside the top half, beating RB leipzig (7th) and taking a point off of Freiburg (6th).
If you’re looking for something at a bigger price, something to be more financially rewarding, then take ‘Under 1.5 Goals’. Both teams have scored in just one of Arminia’s last five on the road, while the visitors have failed to score in two of those five, but have also kept a clean sheet on two occasions too. Interestingly, only one Bundesliga team has been involved in more games containing less than two goals than Arminia Bielefeld this season.
The hosts are expected to be without the services of Aymen Barkok, who is out with a knee injury, and Jens Hauge, who recently picked up a hip injury. Danny Da Costa is a doubt too. For Bielefeld, Nathan De Medina is expected to be out with illness.
Frankfurt: Ramaj, Tuta, Hasebe, N’Dicka, Toure, Rode, Sow, Chandler, Kamada, Lindstrom, Borre.
Bielefeld: Ortega, Brunner, Pieper, Nilsson, Andrade, Vasiliadis, Schopf, Wimmer, Kruger, Okugawa, Serra.
Masaya Okugawa
Watch out for the visiting Masaya Okugawa, who has been central to Bielefeld’s upturn in fortunes of late. The Japanese midfielder once again found the net last time out, scoring for the fourth game in a row, and he now has seven for the season, making him the top scorer for Friday’s visitors.
When the pair met earlier in the campaign, they left the pitch all-square following a 1-1 draw.
This fixture will take place at Deutsche Bank Park.
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