Wolfsburg v Braunschweig Betting Tips: Home advantage can save Wolves in play-off

May 23 2017
May 23 2017
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For both Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, an entire season boils to down to this two-legged tie. For Wolfsburg, this is a chance for them to save themselves and go again next season, while Braunschweig will be looking to round-off a decent campaign in the second tier by earning promotion to the Bundesliga.

Unlike both the English Premier League and Championship, where the bottom three are all condemned to relegation, the top two divisions in Germany operate a slightly different system. Whoever finishes third from bottom in the Bundesliga plays whoever finishes third from top in the second division to decide whether the pair switch or not. Such a set-up probably favours the Bundesliga side but that’s just the way it goes.

From a betting point of view, as the team operating at a higher level, albeit rather unsuccessfully at the moment, Wolfsburg do have a massive advantage here. The Bundesliga outfit have a squad that simply boasts both more quality and strength in depth and, over two legs, they really ought to be getting the job done. The two bets that catch the eye ahead of this first leg are ‘Wolfsburg to Win Half-Time/Full-Time’ and ‘Mario Gómez to Score & Wolfsburg to Win’.

The saving grace for Wolfsburg here is the fact that this first leg is on home soil. Although form at the Wolfsburg Arena hasn’t been overly impressive this season, in fact it’s been anything but, they’ve turned in a few encouraging performances of late, performances that suggest they’re certainly up to beating a second division side who, despite finishing 3rd, have actually struggled away from home. It is Wolfsburg’s recent 3-0 home win against a poor Ingolstadt side that stands out in particular. On that occasion, the Wolves proved that they’re capable of putting their relatively high-profile squad to good use as they flexed their muscles on route to a convincing victory. Andries Jonker’s side carried a first-half lead in that fixture and you’d have to fancy them to come flying out of the traps here as they go in search of a commanding first-leg lead.

What’s more, Braunschweig are a side who’ve found it very difficult indeed to hit their stride when playing on the road this season. To be specific – they actually boast the third-best away record in the second division – the main problem for the visitors has been goals, or rather a lack of. With just 15 goals to their name in 17 away matches, Braunschweig ended the 2.Bundesliga campaign as the league’s fourth-lowest scorers on their travels, and the lowest in the top ten. A lack of firepower certainly doesn’t bode well ahead of a match against Bundesliga opposition. What’s more, the visitors also showed that they’re capable of capitulating if they go behind early when losing 6-0 away to Bielefeld in their last away match. If they were to concede fairly early-on in this first-leg, you’d have to fear for the second tier side.

Adding a Mario Gómez goal to the home win is also a viable selection ahead of this fixture. With 16 Bundesliga goals to his name this season, the veteran German international has been one of the shining lights for Wolfsburg during what has obviously been a disappointing campaign and is likely to be licking his lips at the prospect of facing a second division rearguard, especially one that recently conceded six. The 31-year-old poacher is always at the front of the queue when it comes to getting on the end of deliveries into the box and it’s hard to imagine him being without chances in this fixture. Having scored three of Wolfsburg’s last five goals at home, Gómez is fancied to find the net as the hosts bid to stay in the top flight.

All in all, although Braunschweig have enjoyed a solid campaign in their own division, they’re expected to come up short against superior opposition in this play-off and are certainly worth opposing ahead of the first-leg.

Tips for Thursday’s Ligue 1 play-off can be found here.

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