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The resumption of the Bundesliga spelled contrasting fortunes for these two sides. League leaders Bayern played our a relatively comfortable 2-0 victory over Union Berlin, with Robert Lewandowski marking the occasion with his 40th of the season from the penalty spot, becoming only the third player to score 40 or more goals in five consecutive seasons in one of Europe’s major leagues behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Frankfurt were soundly beaten by top-four candidates Monchengladbach, falling behind as early as the first minute and never managing to find their feet in a 3-1 defeat.
Needless to say, the hosts are the firm favourites for this one having now won 15 of their last 16 unbeaten matches across all competitions, while it’s been a lengthy 465 minutes of football since Manuel Neuer last picked the ball out of his net.
What’s more, the resolute defence has not come at the expense of output further upfield, as on their current run of seven straight victories they’ve averaged three goals per game. Having already played a game behind closed doors, they should have shaken off a bit of rustiness and see off their visitors with relative ease.
Frankfurt would have been hoping the break could bring about a turn of form, though conceding twice in the opening seven minutes last week all but ended any hope of that. They’ve now lost four on the bounce in the league, conceding 13 times across these, which doesn’t bode well for them coming into this one.
However, the one thing the visitors can draw from is their 5-1 thumping of the Champions earlier in the season, though it should be noted that Bayern were seriously depleted in terms of resources for that match, with that Niko Kovac’s final game before the sack.
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Bayern -2 Handicap
A deeper look at the head-to-head history tells a very different story. Prior to this season, Frankfurt had only won one of the previous 18 meetings between these two sides across all competitions, while more recently goals have been a staple of these clashes.
Eight of the last nine have seen a minimum of three goals, including each of the most recent six, while five of those six have seen at least four find the back of the net.
While there’s little value to be had in backing the hosts outright, given the fact that five of the last six wins for Bayern have come by at least three clear goals, the handicap is well worth a flutter, especially considering the current trajectories of both clubs.
Serge Gnabry To Score Anytime
While in theory it’s been suggested that behind-closed-doors matches lead to fewer goals, last weekend somewhat disproved that as there certainly wasn’t a shortage across the league, and the goalscorer market is very much in play again here.
Although Robert Lewandowski is very likely to find the net again considering he’s scored in all but one of his last nine outings, it’s another Bayern player that stands to return more.
Serge Gnabry has dazzled the German outfit this season, scoring 24 times across all competitions for club and country, and was on a run of six from six before the break. With a game under his belt, we’re backing him to get up and running again this match.
Bayern Munich -2 Handicap At EVS
