Borussia Dortmund vs Werder Bremen
The Bundesliga revenge tour continues for Borussia Dortmund. This time, they have their eyes set on Werder Bremen who will be hoping to replicate their success against the Yellow Wall last year.
BVB’s 2017-18 campaign didn’t go as planned. And with only 15 wins, 10 draws and nine defeats, it’s no wonder they finished just fourth, behind Bayern Munich, Schalke 04 and Hoffenheim.
Werder Bremen were one of the teams that made life hard for Dortmund last season. Just like Schalke’s performance against BVB, the River Islanders won one and drew the other in their home-and-away fixtures.
However, Dortmund are different this year. They are currently leading the league by a fairly comfortable margin and are well on pace to end the Bavarians’ dominance in Germany.
Talking Points
BVB, a different beast under Favre
Lucien Favre, perhaps, is the best thing that happened to BVB this year. He transformed the club to legitimate contenders, and that is clear with the optimism surrounding the club and the city.
Favre is yet to win a silverware, but he can have one soon if he helps Dortmund maintain their hot start. The 61-year-old manager has already overseen a club-record 14-match unbeaten run to start the Bundesliga, making BVB one of only three teams in Europe’s top four leagues to stay undefeated in domestic top-flight competition.
The Yellow Wall, with 39 league goals so far, retained their identity as an attacking team. Under Favre, however, they have improved immensely at the back and have conceded just 14 times in as many games.
Another difference between this year’s Dortmund side and their 2017-18 version is their ability to turn draws into wins. BVB’s 3-2 win in Der Klassiker is the best proof for that, with Favre masterminding a come-from-behind victory after trailing twice in the game.
Their battle with Augsburg earlier last October is another example, as Dortmund came out 4-3 winners after seeing three deadlocks in a span of 90 minutes.
The Youth Revolution
Paco Alcacer has undoubtedly been the biggest revelation for BVB. He is the competition’s top scorer with 10, nine of which are scored as a substitute. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old former Barcelona man isn’t the only one who has thrived under Favre.
Jadon Sancho and defender Achraf Hakimi have also gotten a fair share of the Bundesliga 2018 highlights, thanks to their consistent display.
Sancho and Hakimi are following in the footsteps of American wonderboy and BVB star Christian Pulisic, sparking Dortmund’s youth revolution anew.
Sancho has already scored five league goals, including the winner in the Revierderby against Schalke. Remarkably, the 18-year-old rising star has also assisted his teammates six times in the German top flight.
On the other hand, Hakimi was recently named Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for the second time in three months. According to the official league statistics, the 20-year-old defender has made 30 interceptions and has won 80 percent of his aerial duels this November.
Under the weather Werder
While BVB continue to flourish, Bremen are struggling and have been disappointing, to say the least.
Although Florian Kohfeldt’s men beat the likes of Schalke, Hertha Berlin and Frankfurt, they are having a hard time stringing wins together and are yet to show consistency on both ends of the pitch.
They took down bottom club Fortuna 3-1 recently, but they hadn’t won in four league matches prior to that. In fact, they have only picked up four points out of a possible 15 in their last five fixtures in the competition.
The River Islanders have scored almost as many as they have conceded (24 and 23), and it doesn’t help that their best scorers are Maximilian Eggestein and Yuya Osako who have only seven markers combined.
History
As mentioned, BVB failed to beat Bremen in their home-and-away fixtures in the 2017-18 campaign. The River Islanders edged Dortmund, 1-2, at Signal Iduna Park in their first meeting before playing out a 1-1 stalemate in the next game.
For their part, Dortmund will find some solace from the fact that they have dominated their other battles against Bremen in the 2010s. In 17 meetings, BVB won 13 times and lost just three, with the other one ending in a draw.
It’s also good news for the home side that they are on a five-game winning streak at Signal Iduna Park in all competitions.
Betting Tip
 |
 |
Borussia Dortmund vs Werder Bremen | Borussia Dortmund Correct Score 2-0 @ 8.75 |
| December 16, 01:30 (GMT+8) |
Dortmund, unsurprisingly, are overwhelming favourites at SBOBET. The Bundesliga 2018 odds suggest a one-sided affair, with a massive plus handicap given to Werder Bremen just to even things out.
I don’t think Bremen will put up much of a challenge—not now that Dortmund are brimming with confidence after their recent Bundesliga and Champions league exploits.
It’s worth noting, though, that Bremen have not conceded more than two goals in all of their away games this 2018-19.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
|
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
