Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig are the new leaders of the Bundesliga. The Red Bulls’ sixth-straight league win, coupled with Borussia Monchengladbach’s 2-1 defeat at Wolfsburg, has seen them go two points clear at the top.
However, their stay at the top could potentially be short-lived as they face a very tough midweek fixture away to third-placed Borussia Dortmund.
The BvB are on their own winning streak in the league and will be eager to capitalise on this great opportunity to gain ground in the title race. But as the Bundesliga 2019 betting odds indicate, they will be in for a tough contest against Leipzig, who will be looking to tighten their grip at the top.
Talking Points
Dortmund’s formation change working
After going through a bit of a rough patch in November — which included a demoralising 4-0 defeat at Der Klassiker — Dortmund are looking like legitimate contenders once again. They’ve won four matches in a row in all competitions, including three in the Bundesliga.
Their most recent wins were quite impressive. After thrashing Fortuna Dusseldorf 5-0 at home, they thumped Mainz 4-0 away on the weekend.
To be fair, Mainz and Dusseldorf are one of the worst teams in the league. But those wins have coincided with Lucien Favre changing the team’s formation and going with a 3-4-3. That change has seemingly re-energised the squad, particularly in attack.
Thorgan Hazard, who’s come on as a third attacker alongside Marco Reus and Jadon Sancho, has made a big impact. The Belgian has scored three goals since the formation change.
Meanwhile, Reus and Sancho have also been excellent. Dortmund’s dynamic duo has combined for a remarkable eight goals and six assists between them in the past four games.
The new-look three-man Dortmund defence will finally get its first true test against Leipzig, and with Timo Werner in blistering form, they will certainly have their hands full.
But with home advantage, coupled with their own in-form attacking weapons, Dortmund should head into this big matchup with a lot of confidence.
Leipzig looking unstoppable
RB Leipzig just continue to rack up terrific Bundesliga 2019 results. They took care of struggling Fortuna Dusseldorf 3-0 away from home over the weekend to record their sixth straight league victory.
And as if that wasn’t impressive enough, Julian Nagelsmann’s side has scored three or more goals in all six of those contests.
If it weren’t for Leipzig’s two Champions League stalemates — including one in the group stage finale against Lyon — their winning streak in all competitions would be running for 10 matches.
For the second time in three matches, Patrik Schick struck within the first three minutes to get the Red Bulls off to a flying start. Then, Timo Werner struck from the penalty spot to seal the win.
The young German just can’t stop scoring this season. He’s now got 16 league goals on the season and has netted in five of his last six games in all competitions.
Meanwhile, midfielder Emil Forsberg has been on a scoring binge of late with five goals in his last four games. Marcel Sabitzer has also been chipping in with six goals and four assists in the league thus far.
Despite playing in the very intimidating Signal Iduna Park, Nagelsmann will likely have his side set up to be aggressive and get at the home side.
History
Dortmund and Leipzig have met six times since Leipzig came up to the Bundesliga in 2016. Dortmund have the slight edge in wins with three, while Leipzig have two.
Dortmund did the double over Leipzig last season. They thrashed the Red Bulls 4-1 at home before snatching a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture.
Leipzig have one win at Signal Iduna Park, which came back in 2017. Both Marcel Sabitzer and Yussuf Poulsen got on the scoresheet as Leipzig came out 3-2 winners.
Betting Tip
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Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig | Over 3.25 Goals @ 1.98 |
| December 18, 03:30 (GMT+8) |
SBOBET odds for this match are very close. Despite being at home Dortmund are mere 2.26 to grab all three points, while Leipzig aren’t too far behind at 2.85. Meanwhile, a draw is priced at 3.55, which is intriguing given how close the two sides are.
But while the 1X2 market seems quite tough to call, the over under goals market seems like a slam dunk considering all the firepower the two teams possess upfront.
Dortmund have scored at least two goals in 23 of their last 24 home games, while Leipzig have had at least three goals in their last six, so this game is almost guaranteed to go over 3.25 goals.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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