Saturday’s Bundesliga Betting Tips

Augsburg v Schalke 

It’s hard to find a reason for Schalke’s poor start to the season, they appeared to have recruited reasonably well over the summer and, on paper, Markus Weinzierl has a strong squad of players at his disposal, yet, six games into the new season, they find themselves languishing in the bottom three. However, despite a poor start, this match away at Augsburg presents a good opportunity for Schalke to improve their fortunes.

Augsburg, with two wins, a draw and three losses, have been a bit up and down so far, although, considering they avoided a relegation play-off last season by just two points, they probably aren’t too disappointed with the way things have gone.

From a Schalke point of view, the international break probably came at the wrong time. Die Knappen comfortably beat Salzburg in the Europa League, before sticking four past Gladbach last time out and it’s likely that they’ve been filled with confidence having claimed their first league win of the season. Against an Augsburg side, who lost last time out and who’s two wins came against Bremen & Darmstadt (two of the divisions struggling sides) the visitors should fancy their chances of building on what was an impressive victory a fortnight ago.

At odds of 13/10, ‘Schalke to Score Over 1.5 Goals’ looks a good bet. The visitors hit some real scoring form prior to the international break and they’re fancied to continue in the same vein on Saturday.

Against any of the teams who’ve got just a little bit about them, especially in an attacking sense, Augsburg struggled last season and it appears as though this could be the case again this year. The fact that they conceded two or more in defeat at home against both Mainz and Wolfsburg suggests so and, against a resurgent Schalke outfit, the hosts could be faced with the same fate on Saturday.

Hoffenheim v Freiburg

Julian Nagelsmann (the youngest-ever Bundesliga manager) and his Hoffenheim team, with two wins and four draws to their name, have made a pleasing start to the new campaign – a positive start that looks as though it ought to continue on Saturday.

It’s hard to gauge just what to expect from newly promoted Freiburg at this point in the season. Having recorded three wins and three losses, the side from Germany’s Black Forest have been anything but consistent and it could be a case of catching them on the right day. Having said this, it has become reasonably clear that they’re a side who are likely to fare much better in front of a home crowd rather than on the road. Freiburg’s three away matches have yielded zero points and, having scored just two and conceded eight, things don’t bode well ahead of a trip to the Rhein-Neckar-Arena.

Once again, the bet to be on is somewhat goal related. This time in the form of ‘Hoffenheim to Win & Over 1.5 Goals’, at odds of 6/4. 

All but one of Hoffenheim’s six matches this season have seen more than two goals hit the net, including both of their wins. Additionally, all three of Freiburg’s away defeats saw at least two goals go in, in fact, they’ve conceded at least two goals in each of those defeats.

When this pair meet on Saturday afternoon, much of the same looks on the cards – the hosts are fancied to continue their good run and record a third successive Bundesliga victory, while it’s hard to see Freiburg’s dismal away form improving.

Mönchengladbach v Hamburger 

Having enjoyed another good campaign last year (finished 4th), Gladbach have, thus far, failed to spring into life this time around. So far, it’s been up and down for André Schubert’s men – one week they look good and then they disappoint the next. Last time out (4-0 defeat at the hands of Schalke) was a bit of a low point, but, after being able regroup during the international break, the hosts are fancied to hit back with a bit of a bang against Hamburg on Saturday.

If Gladbach have disappointed somewhat this season, then you’d have to come up with a whole new word for what Hamburg have done. Markus Gisdol’s side are yet to win a game and, having lost five and drawn one, they find themselves sat firmly on the bottom of the pile. A trip to Borussia-Park isn’t exactly what you need when you’re struggling for points and, realistically, it’s hard to be upbeat about the visitors’ chances ahead of this fixture.

The hosts may have underwhelmed at times this season, but they remain a force to be reckoned with in front of their own fans. Three matches in front of a home crowd have produced three wins. In doing so they’ve scored eight goals and have conceded just two.

Whichever way you look at this fixture, despite the hosts not being in outstanding form overall, it’s almost impossible to oppose Gladbach here and thus the bet to go for is ‘Gladbach to Win & Over 1.5 Goals’. All three of the hosts’ wins have seen two or more goals hit the net, while the same can be said for Hamburg in their three away defeats.

One of the real positives about this Mönchengladbach team, especially at home, is the fact that they’re attacks have no single focal point. The hosts have a real array of attacking talent in their squad and are capable of hurting teams in a variety of ways and, as is shown by the fact that their eight home goals have been scored by five different players, they have a number of avenues of which goals can come from.

All things considered, it’s hard to envisage a shaky Hamburg back-line being able to sustain the inevitable barrage of Gladbach attacks and the hosts are fancied to come out on top having notched a few goals.

See all of Saturday’s tips here.