Germany, 27.08. - 30.08.

[DSQUAREDLOL]

Hi, previews will probably follow tommorow morning.

[DSQUAREDLOL]

Hi, my bet for Friday:

27.08.2010, 18:00h | 2. Bundesliga | Erzgebirge Aue - VfL Bochum

Betting is changeable thing, on Monday I backed Bochum and I kept my fingers crossed for them and this evening I will have a bet against them.

First of all I want to start my preview with writing about Erzgebirge Aue. Aue is a promoted team and last year they were very strong at home. They did some changes in the team, they sold some players and they bought experienced players. First I thought it is the wrong way to substitute some promotion 'heroes' like Eric Ageymang by players who failed with their last teams (Enrico Kern, Oliver Schröder, Kevin Schlitte, all three from relegated team Hansa Rostock). But I am telling the truth if I say that I actually wanted to have a bet on them last Saturday when they beat Paderborn but I was not brave enough because of their injury misery. Let's look on their most probably lineup against Bochum:

Männel - le Beau, Lachheb, Paulus, Klingbeil - Hensel, Schröder - Schlitte, Curri, Hochscheidt - Kern (Glasner)

The important defender Kos is out for weeks, same with their good striker Braham. In addition Aues new players Milchraum and Strauß are injured but it is not so grave because both were not part of the team so far.

I admit that I do not know much about every single player from Aue but I talked with a betting mate some weeks ago and he said to me that Aue is a very strong team. Their goalkeeper Männel is a goalkeeper talent and an important backing. Their defense consists
of the old and experienced Paulus and the 23 years old Adil Lachheb (new from Hallescher FC) who showed two good performances so far. Their left-back and captain is Rene Klingbeil. I still now him very, very well, he played for my favourite club Hamburger SV some years ago. He is a very solid, struggling defender but the offensive is his weakness. But Klingbeil is very powerful and strong, therefore I think that he will do his job well in the defense. Hensel and Schröder are their defensive midfield player. Hensel scored last Saturday in the injury time to the 1:0 win for Aue in Paderborn (I will say sth. about it later), Schröder is new from Rostock and I am sure that he is a very good new signing. Even when Rostock showed poor performances last year, he was one of the best players from them. He is experienced and players like him are important for a promoted team. Curri, a 166cm small player, is already 35 years old but he is technical skilled and I am sure that it will be very difficult for Bochums defense to defend against him. Aue will play with one single striker, probably Enrico Kern. He is a strong player with big potential and he is quite strong in the air. That could be an important point because Bochum showed problems with positional play against 1860.

So I said sth. about Aues team, now some general things about that club. Aue is a traditional strong home side from East Germany with fantastic fans. Their last 3. Liga season was strong and the promotion was the reward.
Two weekends ago they had their competitive debut in the DFB Pokal against 1. Bundesliga club Borussia M'gladbach. Aue impressed me, they were struggling until the end but all in all Gladbach was too strong and Aue lost 1:3. But they played very passional. Last Saturday they won 1:0 away in Paderborn. The win was a bit lucky because Paderborn had better opportunities but all in all the win was not undeserved. Aue was struggling and the late 1:0 in the injury time was the reward for it. The atmosphere in the little town and in the team is great as I heard. The chemistry is right and Aue has a good mix of young and old players.

I expect that Aue will play carefully against Bochum, but nevertheless they will attack. I think that their offensive with strong Enrico Kern and Curri is strong enough to practise on Bochums' weak point: Bochums defense.

So something about Bochum. I have written many things about them in my last preview, but I will do it again. First of all their most probably lineup:

Heerwagen - Kopplin, Maltritz (Yahia), Mavraj, Grote (Pfertzel) - Dabrowski, Maric - Federico, Toski - Saglik, Tese

First of all an interesting thing. Two weeks ago Bochum played away in offenbach, a team from the 3. Liga which is currently very strong. Offenbach is a little bit similar to Aue, a strong and fighting home team. So, Bochum was favourite in an away match but they were not able to make the running. The result was that Offenbach beat poor Bochum with 3:0.

Now some impressions from Bochum's match against 1860 on Monday. The game was how I expected it. Bochums offensive was very strong, their North Korean superstar Chong Tese scored twice and showed a great performance. Mahir Saglik, a fantastic counter striker and a new signing from SC Paderborn, had no connection to the game. I think his game style does not go well with Bochums strategy. Saglik is a counter striker but Bochum is a team which try to dominate. So the chemistry is not right. Apart from that their offensive was really strong, Toski and Federico played good also.

But their defense shocked me. I have written that their defense is their weak point but I did not think that their defense is that poor to be honest. Their first goal against resulted from a catastrophal defense mistake by poor Marcel Maltritz. A harmless cross but Maltritz missed the ball. The second goal against was another example for poor defending. 1860's fast winger Stefan Aigner overrunned Bochums defender Dennis Grote (who is actually not a defender but he has to play because regulars are out). Bochum's defense was a disaster and if they will not solve that problem, I do not see them playing for promotion.

Another mentionable thing: Today I watched the press conference from VfL Bochum and their coach Friedhelm Funkel said that players are tired. For example superstar striker Chong Tese had problems with stamina after ~60-70 minuts in the game against 1860. Personally I doubt that he will be able to repeat his great performance in Aue because only 3 days for regeneration is quite short.

And if a team wants to get 3 points in Aue, they need a good stamina. In addition I read weather forecast and rain is very possible tommorow. Of course that would be an advantage for fighting Aue.

Concluding I do not think that Bochums stamina will be good enough to beat Aue. They are the better team, no doubt, but we saw a similar situation in Offenbach when Bochum lost 0:3. Aue has enough self-confidence from the last minute win in Paderborn and they are a great home side anyway. Furthermore Bochums defense is a ticking bomb. Bochums best defender Yahia is still very doubtful and even if he would play, I do not think that he would be fit enough. (News 27.08.2010 0:00 - Yahia did not travel to Aue)

"Only" 4/10 because Bochum is actually the better team but I do not see them getting 3 points in Aue.

Pick: Erzgebirge Aue (+0.25) @2,01 (Pinnacle) , 4/10

[SPERRL]

DSQUAREDLOL =

Aue 1-0, Thanks again brother!!

[DSQUAREDLOL]

np

Originally Posted by DSQUAREDLOL

Hi, my bet for Friday:

27.08.2010, 18:00h | 2. Bundesliga | Erzgebirge Aue - VfL Bochum

Betting is changeable thing, on Monday I backed Bochum and I kept my fingers crossed for them and this evening I will have a bet against them.

First of all I want to start my preview with writing about Erzgebirge Aue. Aue is a promoted team and last year they were very strong at home. They did some changes in the team, they sold some players and they bought experienced players. First I thought it is the wrong way to substitute some promotion 'heroes' like Eric Ageymang by players who failed with their last teams (Enrico Kern, Oliver Schröder, Kevin Schlitte, all three from relegated team Hansa Rostock). But I am telling the truth if I say that I actually wanted to have a bet on them last Saturday when they beat Paderborn but I was not brave enough because of their injury misery. Let's look on their most probably lineup against Bochum:

Männel - le Beau, Lachheb, Paulus, Klingbeil - Hensel, Schröder - Schlitte, Curri, Hochscheidt - Kern (Glasner)

The important defender Kos is out for weeks, same with their good striker Braham. In addition Aues new players Milchraum and Strauß are injured but it is not so grave because both were not part of the team so far.

I admit that I do not know much about every single player from Aue but I talked with a betting mate some weeks ago and he said to me that Aue is a very strong team. Their goalkeeper Männel is a goalkeeper talent and an important backing. Their defense consists
of the old and experienced Paulus and the 23 years old Adil Lachheb (new from Hallescher FC) who showed two good performances so far. Their left-back and captain is Rene Klingbeil. I still now him very, very well, he played for my favourite club Hamburger SV some years ago. He is a very solid, struggling defender but the offensive is his weakness. But Klingbeil is very powerful and strong, therefore I think that he will do his job well in the defense. Hensel and Schröder are their defensive midfield player. Hensel scored last Saturday in the injury time to the 1:0 win for Aue in Paderborn (I will say sth. about it later), Schröder is new from Rostock and I am sure that he is a very good new signing. Even when Rostock showed poor performances last year, he was one of the best players from them. He is experienced and players like him are important for a promoted team. Curri, a 166cm small player, is already 35 years old but he is technical skilled and I am sure that it will be very difficult for Bochums defense to defend against him. Aue will play with one single striker, probably Enrico Kern. He is a strong player with big potential and he is quite strong in the air. That could be an important point because Bochum showed problems with positional play against 1860.

So I said sth. about Aues team, now some general things about that club. Aue is a traditional strong home side from East Germany with fantastic fans. Their last 3. Liga season was strong and the promotion was the reward.
Two weekends ago they had their competitive debut in the DFB Pokal against 1. Bundesliga club Borussia M'gladbach. Aue impressed me, they were struggling until the end but all in all Gladbach was too strong and Aue lost 1:3. But they played very passional. Last Saturday they won 1:0 away in Paderborn. The win was a bit lucky because Paderborn had better opportunities but all in all the win was not undeserved. Aue was struggling and the late 1:0 in the injury time was the reward for it. The atmosphere in the little town and in the team is great as I heard. The chemistry is right and Aue has a good mix of young and old players.

I expect that Aue will play carefully against Bochum, but nevertheless they will attack. I think that their offensive with strong Enrico Kern and Curri is strong enough to practise on Bochums' weak point: Bochums defense.

So something about Bochum. I have written many things about them in my last preview, but I will do it again. First of all their most probably lineup:

Heerwagen - Kopplin, Maltritz (Yahia), Mavraj, Grote (Pfertzel) - Dabrowski, Maric - Federico, Toski - Saglik, Tese

First of all an interesting thing. Two weeks ago Bochum played away in offenbach, a team from the 3. Liga which is currently very strong. Offenbach is a little bit similar to Aue, a strong and fighting home team. So, Bochum was favourite in an away match but they were not able to make the running. The result was that Offenbach beat poor Bochum with 3:0.

Now some impressions from Bochum's match against 1860 on Monday. The game was how I expected it. Bochums offensive was very strong, their North Korean superstar Chong Tese scored twice and showed a great performance. Mahir Saglik, a fantastic counter striker and a new signing from SC Paderborn, had no connection to the game. I think his game style does not go well with Bochums strategy. Saglik is a counter striker but Bochum is a team which try to dominate. So the chemistry is not right. Apart from that their offensive was really strong, Toski and Federico played good also.

But their defense shocked me. I have written that their defense is their weak point but I did not think that their defense is that poor to be honest. Their first goal against resulted from a catastrophal defense mistake by poor Marcel Maltritz. A harmless cross but Maltritz missed the ball. The second goal against was another example for poor defending. 1860's fast winger Stefan Aigner overrunned Bochums defender Dennis Grote (who is actually not a defender but he has to play because regulars are out). Bochum's defense was a disaster and if they will not solve that problem, I do not see them playing for promotion.

Another mentionable thing: Today I watched the press conference from VfL Bochum and their coach Friedhelm Funkel said that players are tired. For example superstar striker Chong Tese had problems with stamina after ~60-70 minuts in the game against 1860. Personally I doubt that he will be able to repeat his great performance in Aue because only 3 days for regeneration is quite short.

And if a team wants to get 3 points in Aue, they need a good stamina. In addition I read weather forecast and rain is very possible tommorow. Of course that would be an advantage for fighting Aue.

Concluding I do not think that Bochums stamina will be good enough to beat Aue. They are the better team, no doubt, but we saw a similar situation in Offenbach when Bochum lost 0:3. Aue has enough self-confidence from the last minute win in Paderborn and they are a great home side anyway. Furthermore Bochums defense is a ticking bomb. Bochums best defender Yahia is still very doubtful and even if he would play, I do not think that he would be fit enough. (News 27.08.2010 0:00 - Yahia did not travel to Aue)

"Only" 4/10 because Bochum is actually the better team but I do not see them getting 3 points in Aue.

Pick: Erzgebirge Aue (+0.25) @2,01 (Pinnacle) , 4/10

1:0 FT

+ 4.08 u

Game was how expected. Aue was struggling, the rain helped us (from now on I will always check weather forecast before I place a bet) and Aues defense was good enough after the 1:0. Bochum had some big opportunities in the 1st half time to be honest, but in the second half time Bochum had no more ideas. I did not see the 2nd half time because I was away but probably they had problems with stamina as their coach said before the game.

[DSQUAREDLOL]

Hi,

28.08.2010, 13:00h | 2. Bundesliga | Union Berlin - Greuther Furth

This pick is IMO the most obvious and best 2. BL bet this weekend. First I will have a detailed look on Berlins most probably lineup:

Glinker - Polenz, Göhlert, Madouni, Kohlmann - Younga-Mouhani, Mattuschka - Benyamina, Ede - Kolk - Mosquera

First of all Berlins goalkeeper Glinker is not really good. He is one of the worst goalkeepers in this league and because of that Berlin bought a new goalkeeper in the summer break (Marcel Höttecke). But Höttecke played poor test games and hence Glinker will be the goalkeeper again. But he is a weak point.

Berlins defense changed in comparison with last year. Polenz is new from Aachen, he is a solid player but not notably good. Madouni is the new defense leader and he has huge experience (Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen). Anyhow Berlins defense did not work well last Friday. Berlin had big problems against the brave attacking team from Aachen and Aachen would have been in the lead to the half time by 3 or 4 goals. But Aachen was very careless with using opportunities. But the coordination in the defense was one problem so far, I think it will still take some time until the coordinations works well. In the defensive midfield Younga-Mouhani is Berlins weak point. He is 35 years old and quite slow, I think he could meet some problems against Furths fast offensive (sth. about it later). In the offensive Santi Kolk is Berlins new leader. He is a good player but his performances were not so strong so far. Berlins striker, Mosquera, is an opportunity killer. He has potential but I do not know many other players who have such big problems with using opportunities.

Concluding we can say that Berlin is a team with problems in the defensive. Some defenders are slow and that could be a big, big advantage for Furth, because Furth has the fastest counter offensive from the whole league. Berlin has some new players in the squad but coordination beetween them is not good up to now.

Still a few words about Berlins performances so far. In the test games Berlin conceded many goal againsts and Berlins defense problems were very obviously. In the DFB Pokal Berlin lost 0:1 against Hallescher FC, a club from the 4th league. Berlin had opportunties but they did not use them but all in all their performance vs. Halle was very dissapointing. Last Friday Berlin enjoyed the rub of the green against Aachen (2:2). Aachen is a young and offensive team (even a little bit similiar to Furth) and they put Berlins defense under big pressure but they missed out a couple of great opportunities. Berlin used one counter attack and they scored one time very late in a curious way. But Aachen showed that it is not difficult to play against Berlins defense, you just need some fast strikers (Furth has) and you have to put them under pressure.

I expect Berlin to play offensive in front of their home crowd. That could give Furth much space to counter attack and Furth is the most dangerous counter attacking team from the 2. Bundesliga.

Enough about Berlin, now sth. about Furth. First of all we start with their most probably lineup:

Grün - Schröck, Kleine, Biliskov, Prib - Pekovic - Nehrig, Fürstner, N. Müller - Nöthe, Schahin

I admit that Furth is my favourite team in 2. Bundesliga. Before the season I said to people that Furth is my personal favourite for promotion. I can explain you why I said that. First of all, Furth has a brilliant goalkeeper. I think that it is an important
precondition (look at Union Berlin, VfL Bochum, RW Oberhausen .. these teams have poor goalkeepers). Then Furth has a very experienced (but slow) defense with Biliskov and Kleine. That could make problems against counter attacking strikers but we won't see that today because Furth are visitors. Otherwise they are very strong in the air.
Their wing defense mans are fantastic. Schröck is currently in an amazing form, he shows his potential and he made a brilliant game against Karlsruhe on Sunday. Prib is back after a long injury and he showed a great comeback. Fast wing defenders are a important thing because hence Furth is able to make pressure with their wing defenders.
Müller and Nehrig are quick counter strikers. Both were very strong against Karlsruhe and above all Müller is in a great current form at the moment. Greuthers best striker Nöthe scored 15 times last year although he was not good against KSC but the young Schahin played an excellent build-up and he is in a great form also. Otherwise Furth has Kingsley Onuegbu on their substitute's bench. Onuegbu scored last Sunday after his substitution.

You see that I am really keen on Furths team but nevertheless I rate it objective. But Furth has the perfect mix composed of experienced defenders and excellent counter players.

Another key to sucess for them is their coach Mike Buskens. Buskens is a fantastic motivator. He is still young and he is the friend from the players. For example, last weekend Buskens ran over the whole pitch to congratulate his players after a goal.

Just some words about Furths performance against Karlsruhe (4:1). Furth played good, they had some problems when Karlsruhe started to make more pressure but all in all their fast strikers were simply too strong for Karlsruhe.
Apart from that I have said a lot about Furth in my last preview (Furth - Karlsruhe).

Just one bad thing, Karaslavov (not as important) and Haas (midfield regular) are out. But Haas is exchangeable, as it is I did not like his performances in the last months.

So what kind of match do I expect today? Well, I think Berlin is a strong home side and they will attack. Berlins offensive is average but not fantastic. Furth is a very strong away side due to their counter attacking skills. Furth is a hard-running team, their fast players are their strength while Berlins defenders are slow. That is one of the most important facts for me. If Furths defense is good enough to withstand Berlins attacks (I think they can) they will be able to take 3 points again.

Pick: Greuther Furth (+0.25) @1,85 (Stanjames) , 5/10 (or @1,82 5dimes, @1,80 SBObet ..)

[martini]

St. Pauli- Hopeheim : Yes , I know Hoffenheim 4:1 Victory at Home last weekend- last Year St. Pauli very strong at home 72:34 Goals .odds for Homewin 3,2! That´s nice- Lady´s and Gentleman--, I´ll take this one........

[DSQUAREDLOL]

Originally Posted by DSQUAREDLOL

Hi,

28.08.2010, 13:00h | 2. Bundesliga | Union Berlin - Greuther Furth

This pick is IMO the most obvious and best 2. BL bet this weekend. First I will have a detailed look on Berlins most probably lineup:

Glinker - Polenz, Göhlert, Madouni, Kohlmann - Younga-Mouhani, Mattuschka - Benyamina, Ede - Kolk - Mosquera

First of all Berlins goalkeeper Glinker is not really good. He is one of the worst goalkeepers in this league and because of that Berlin bought a new goalkeeper in the summer break (Marcel Höttecke). But Höttecke played poor test games and hence Glinker will be the goalkeeper again. But he is a weak point.

Berlins defense changed in comparison with last year. Polenz is new from Aachen, he is a solid player but not notably good. Madouni is the new defense leader and he has huge experience (Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen). Anyhow Berlins defense did not work well last Friday. Berlin had big problems against the brave attacking team from Aachen and Aachen would have been in the lead to the half time by 3 or 4 goals. But Aachen was very careless with using opportunities. But the coordination in the defense was one problem so far, I think it will still take some time until the coordinations works well. In the defensive midfield Younga-Mouhani is Berlins weak point. He is 35 years old and quite slow, I think he could meet some problems against Furths fast offensive (sth. about it later). In the offensive Santi Kolk is Berlins new leader. He is a good player but his performances were not so strong so far. Berlins striker, Mosquera, is an opportunity killer. He has potential but I do not know many other players who have such big problems with using opportunities.

Concluding we can say that Berlin is a team with problems in the defensive. Some defenders are slow and that could be a big, big advantage for Furth, because Furth has the fastest counter offensive from the whole league. Berlin has some new players in the squad but coordination beetween them is not good up to now.

Still a few words about Berlins performances so far. In the test games Berlin conceded many goal againsts and Berlins defense problems were very obviously. In the DFB Pokal Berlin lost 0:1 against Hallescher FC, a club from the 4th league. Berlin had opportunties but they did not use them but all in all their performance vs. Halle was very dissapointing. Last Friday Berlin enjoyed the rub of the green against Aachen (2:2). Aachen is a young and offensive team (even a little bit similiar to Furth) and they put Berlins defense under big pressure but they missed out a couple of great opportunities. Berlin used one counter attack and they scored one time very late in a curious way. But Aachen showed that it is not difficult to play against Berlins defense, you just need some fast strikers (Furth has) and you have to put them under pressure.

I expect Berlin to play offensive in front of their home crowd. That could give Furth much space to counter attack and Furth is the most dangerous counter attacking team from the 2. Bundesliga.

Enough about Berlin, now sth. about Furth. First of all we start with their most probably lineup:

Grün - Schröck, Kleine, Biliskov, Prib - Pekovic - Nehrig, Fürstner, N. Müller - Nöthe, Schahin

I admit that Furth is my favourite team in 2. Bundesliga. Before the season I said to people that Furth is my personal favourite for promotion. I can explain you why I said that. First of all, Furth has a brilliant goalkeeper. I think that it is an important
precondition (look at Union Berlin, VfL Bochum, RW Oberhausen .. these teams have poor goalkeepers). Then Furth has a very experienced (but slow) defense with Biliskov and Kleine. That could make problems against counter attacking strikers but we won't see that today because Furth are visitors. Otherwise they are very strong in the air.
Their wing defense mans are fantastic. Schröck is currently in an amazing form, he shows his potential and he made a brilliant game against Karlsruhe on Sunday. Prib is back after a long injury and he showed a great comeback. Fast wing defenders are a important thing because hence Furth is able to make pressure with their wing defenders.
Müller and Nehrig are quick counter strikers. Both were very strong against Karlsruhe and above all Müller is in a great current form at the moment. Greuthers best striker Nöthe scored 15 times last year although he was not good against KSC but the young Schahin played an excellent build-up and he is in a great form also. Otherwise Furth has Kingsley Onuegbu on their substitute's bench. Onuegbu scored last Sunday after his substitution.

You see that I am really keen on Furths team but nevertheless I rate it objective. But Furth has the perfect mix composed of experienced defenders and excellent counter players.

Another key to sucess for them is their coach Mike Buskens. Buskens is a fantastic motivator. He is still young and he is the friend from the players. For example, last weekend Buskens ran over the whole pitch to congratulate his players after a goal.

Just some words about Furths performance against Karlsruhe (4:1). Furth played good, they had some problems when Karlsruhe started to make more pressure but all in all their fast strikers were simply too strong for Karlsruhe.
Apart from that I have said a lot about Furth in my last preview (Furth - Karlsruhe).

Just one bad thing, Karaslavov (not as important) and Haas (midfield regular) are out. But Haas is exchangeable, as it is I did not like his performances in the last months.

So what kind of match do I expect today? Well, I think Berlin is a strong home side and they will attack. Berlins offensive is average but not fantastic. Furth is a very strong away side due to their counter attacking skills. Furth is a hard-running team, their fast players are their strength while Berlins defenders are slow. That is one of the most important facts for me. If Furths defense is good enough to withstand Berlins attacks (I think they can) they will be able to take 3 points again.

Pick: Greuther Furth (+0.25) @1,85 (Stanjames) , 5/10 (or @1,82 5dimes, @1,80 SBObet ..)

1:2 FT

+ 4,10 u (5dimes)

Deserved win for Furth. Game was how expected but Berlin played very unfair (5 Yellow Cards) and aggressive so that Furths players were scared of injuries in the first half time, I think. In the second half time Furth started great with 2 early goals by counter attacks (as written in reasoning). Then nothing more happened but Berlin scored with first real opportunity in the second half time. Some seconds later Berlin got a penalty (but it was a doubtful penalty) but Santi Kolk wasted the penalty.
Then Furth had some big opportunities for the 3:1 but they did not use them. All in all win was deserved.

[DSQUAREDLOL]

29.08.2010, 13:30h | 2. Bundesliga | Arminia Bielefeld - Energie Cottbus

The weekend was succesful so far for me and I am confident that I will keep it on today. This odds are inexplicable and pure gift for us!

If you hear Arminia Bielefeld you probably think about a team which shuttled beetween the 1st and the 2nd Bundesliga. But Bielefeld will not play for promotion this year but rather against relegation. Bielefeld is nearly bankrupt and insolvent, they lost all their regulars. Chris Katongo, Michael Lamey, Andre Mijatovic, Radim Kucera, Giovanni Federico, Daniel Halfar, Oliver Kirch and some more. In return they bought a couple of unexperienced and unknown young players (I will write more detailed about them in the next lines). But first of all still something about Bielefelds situation. The club is so poor that players have to spend their nights in cheaper hotels and things like that. In this way enough about their financial situation now we will focus on football. Bielefelds expected lineup:

Eilhoff - Lense, Fischer, Bollmann, Schuler - Kauf, Bölstler - Guela, Abelski, Baykan - Neuville

Two weeks ago Bielefeld won in the DFB cup versus Jahn Regensburg but just in penalty shootout and quite lucky. Last week Bielefeld started in the 2. Bundesliga season with an away match in Frankfurt against FSV. The first half time was shocking poor. FSV Frankfurt is a team with technical skilled offensive players (similiar to todays opponent Cottbus) and they demonstrated how to break through their defense. In the second half time Frankfurt did not do more than necessary and Bielefeld did a little bit more but all in all everyone saw that this team will play against relegation until the end of the season.

On the whole Bielefelds defense is okay but of course not good. I do not have a high opinion about Fischer for example. Or Lense who came from relegated team TuS Koblenz. All these are players who are cheap and thus they play for Bielefeld. In the defensive midfield Kauf and Bölstler play. Kauf is a 35 years-old defender and the spirit of the team but in his last performances I have seen that he is too old and slow for this position. Next to him Manuel Bölstler plays. I do not know much about him to be honest but he came from a 3. Liga team (RW Erfurt) and he plays without attracting attention so far. I think Bielefeld did not buy Bölstler because they wanted him especially, but I think they had to buy him because they got no better players. Then Guela, Abelski and Baykan play in the offensive midfield. Guela is a very fast and dribbling player but he is not very effective. Cottbus new wing defenders are good and thus I think that Guela will bring nothing. Abelski is 21 years old player, he hint at his potential but in my opinion he is already not experienced enough and caused by his inexperience he still does some mistakes. Baykan (18 years) is similiar, another young player with potential but it is too early for him. But Bielefeld has no other players and so players like him have to play. Their striker Neuville is a violent contrast. Football experts know him of course, he was German international for years and he was vice-World champion in 2002. Of course he was a great player but against FSV Frankfurt I saw that he is not fit and fast enough. Neuville was a player who profits from his swiftness but he is too old with 37 years.

Another thing which I do not like: Bielefelds new coach Christian Ziege announced that he wants to see short-passing Spain style from World Cup but his players are no Xavi or Iniesta. His short-passing philosophy did not work against Regensburg and Frankfurt.

The fans from Bielefeld know that it will be one of the most difficult seasons in club history. Bielefeld wants their first win this season but they are simply too bad.

So I am going to switch to Cottbus now. First of all, Cottbus is simply the better team. Cottbus has more quality than Bielefeld. Last Sunday Cottbus started with a home win against quite strong Dusseldorf. The win was maybe a little bit lucky because Dusseldorf missed out some big, big opportunities but no way undeserved. The atmosphere in Cottbus is very good this year. No one speaks about promotion but everyone in Cottbus knows that the team is actually strong enough to play for promotion. Cottbus substituted a few very important regulars in summer and therefore I thought that they would collapse this year but last weekend I watched them against Dusseldorf and they convinced me of the contrary.
Let's have a look to their lineup, they will play with the same like last week:

Kirschbaum - Afriyie, Straith, Brzenska, Soma - Kurth, Kruska - Kronaveter, Adlung - Petersen, Jula

Last season Cottbus' wing defenders were their weak point but Afriyie and Soma convinced me. Last weekend both players showed very strong performances. The central defense consists of Brzenska and Straith. I do not like this combination because both are tall and therefore slow. But as I said it above, Bielefelds centre-forward Neuville is 37 years old and not fast enough anymore to exploit it. Kronaveter came from Rudar Velenje and he showed a very strong debut against Dusseldorf. I was really suprised by him and he could be the new star from Cottbus. Adlung is a young but indeed experienced midfield player who came from Alemannia Aachen. I know about his skills and it was a good decision to buy him. Cottbus showpiece is their offensive. Their striker duo composed of Jula and Petersen is one of the best in the league. Above all the young Petersen is fantastic, clubs like Schalke 04 wanted to buy him but he decided to stay in Cottbus because he said that the Bundesliga would be too early for him.

So we see that Cottbus is simply stronger than Bielefeld. The odds base on Bielefelds name and their results in the past but the present is different. Cottbus odds have definite value. Even Cottbus' coach Wollitz said in an interview that Cottbus will be the favourite in this game. So odds are gift and we have to take them.

Maybe you are asking your self why we do not play 8/10 or 9/10 but I am careful because Cottbus were poor travellers last season and because I read that the pitch could be bad in Bielefeld.

Pick: Energie Cottbus (+0.25) @1,87 (5dimes) or (@1,83 bet365, Asians already ~1,75) , 5/10

[adam hawkins]

Cottbus are ready to roll, you´re kickin´ it. awesome.

[DSQUAREDLOL]

Originally Posted by DSQUAREDLOL

29.08.2010, 13:30h | 2. Bundesliga | Arminia Bielefeld - Energie Cottbus

The weekend was succesful so far for me and I am confident that I will keep it on today. This odds are inexplicable and pure gift for us!

If you hear Arminia Bielefeld you probably think about a team which shuttled beetween the 1st and the 2nd Bundesliga. But Bielefeld will not play for promotion this year but rather against relegation. Bielefeld is nearly bankrupt and insolvent, they lost all their regulars. Chris Katongo, Michael Lamey, Andre Mijatovic, Radim Kucera, Giovanni Federico, Daniel Halfar, Oliver Kirch and some more. In return they bought a couple of unexperienced and unknown young players (I will write more detailed about them in the next lines). But first of all still something about Bielefelds situation. The club is so poor that players have to spend their nights in cheaper hotels and things like that. In this way enough about their financial situation now we will focus on football. Bielefelds expected lineup:

Eilhoff - Lense, Fischer, Bollmann, Schuler - Kauf, Bölstler - Guela, Abelski, Baykan - Neuville

Two weeks ago Bielefeld won in the DFB cup versus Jahn Regensburg but just in penalty shootout and quite lucky. Last week Bielefeld started in the 2. Bundesliga season with an away match in Frankfurt against FSV. The first half time was shocking poor. FSV Frankfurt is a team with technical skilled offensive players (similiar to todays opponent Cottbus) and they demonstrated how to break through their defense. In the second half time Frankfurt did not do more than necessary and Bielefeld did a little bit more but all in all everyone saw that this team will play against relegation until the end of the season.

On the whole Bielefelds defense is okay but of course not good. I do not have a high opinion about Fischer for example. Or Lense who came from relegated team TuS Koblenz. All these are players who are cheap and thus they play for Bielefeld. In the defensive midfield Kauf and Bölstler play. Kauf is a 35 years-old defender and the spirit of the team but in his last performances I have seen that he is too old and slow for this position. Next to him Manuel Bölstler plays. I do not know much about him to be honest but he came from a 3. Liga team (RW Erfurt) and he plays without attracting attention so far. I think Bielefeld did not buy Bölstler because they wanted him especially, but I think they had to buy him because they got no better players. Then Guela, Abelski and Baykan play in the offensive midfield. Guela is a very fast and dribbling player but he is not very effective. Cottbus new wing defenders are good and thus I think that Guela will bring nothing. Abelski is 21 years old player, he hint at his potential but in my opinion he is already not experienced enough and caused by his inexperience he still does some mistakes. Baykan (18 years) is similiar, another young player with potential but it is too early for him. But Bielefeld has no other players and so players like him have to play. Their striker Neuville is a violent contrast. Football experts know him of course, he was German international for years and he was vice-World champion in 2002. Of course he was a great player but against FSV Frankfurt I saw that he is not fit and fast enough. Neuville was a player who profits from his swiftness but he is too old with 37 years.

Another thing which I do not like: Bielefelds new coach Christian Ziege announced that he wants to see short-passing Spain style from World Cup but his players are no Xavi or Iniesta. His short-passing philosophy did not work against Regensburg and Frankfurt.

The fans from Bielefeld know that it will be one of the most difficult seasons in club history. Bielefeld wants their first win this season but they are simply too bad.

So I am going to switch to Cottbus now. First of all, Cottbus is simply the better team. Cottbus has more quality than Bielefeld. Last Sunday Cottbus started with a home win against quite strong Dusseldorf. The win was maybe a little bit lucky because Dusseldorf missed out some big, big opportunities but no way undeserved. The atmosphere in Cottbus is very good this year. No one speaks about promotion but everyone in Cottbus knows that the team is actually strong enough to play for promotion. Cottbus substituted a few very important regulars in summer and therefore I thought that they would collapse this year but last weekend I watched them against Dusseldorf and they convinced me of the contrary.
Let's have a look to their lineup, they will play with the same like last week:

Kirschbaum - Afriyie, Straith, Brzenska, Soma - Kurth, Kruska - Kronaveter, Adlung - Petersen, Jula

Last season Cottbus' wing defenders were their weak point but Afriyie and Soma convinced me. Last weekend both players showed very strong performances. The central defense consists of Brzenska and Straith. I do not like this combination because both are tall and therefore slow. But as I said it above, Bielefelds centre-forward Neuville is 37 years old and not fast enough anymore to exploit it. Kronaveter came from Rudar Velenje and he showed a very strong debut against Dusseldorf. I was really suprised by him and he could be the new star from Cottbus. Adlung is a young but indeed experienced midfield player who came from Alemannia Aachen. I know about his skills and it was a good decision to buy him. Cottbus showpiece is their offensive. Their striker duo composed of Jula and Petersen is one of the best in the league. Above all the young Petersen is fantastic, clubs like Schalke 04 wanted to buy him but he decided to stay in Cottbus because he said that the Bundesliga would be too early for him.

So we see that Cottbus is simply stronger than Bielefeld. The odds base on Bielefelds name and their results in the past but the present is different. Cottbus odds have definite value. Even Cottbus' coach Wollitz said in an interview that Cottbus will be the favourite in this game. So odds are gift and we have to take them.

Maybe you are asking your self why we do not play 8/10 or 9/10 but I am careful because Cottbus were poor travellers last season and because I read that the pitch could be bad in Bielefeld.

Pick: Energie Cottbus (+0.25) @1,87 (5dimes) or (@1,83 bet365, Asians already ~1,75) , 5/10

FT 1:2

+ 4.35 u

First half time nothing happened. Bielefeld without any opportunity, Cottbus slightly better with a few ones and Cottbus used them. In the second half time Cottbus had big opportunities to raise the result to 3:0 but they were too careless with using them. Therefore the deserved 1:2. But after the 1:2 Bielefeld had no more opportunities. So the away win is deserved.

[traeth]

enjoyed reading your preview of the Cottbus tip , I took them DNB , so thanks for the great tip

[DSQUAREDLOL]

Last bet for next two weeks (break next weekend):

30.08.2010, 20:15h | 2. Bundesliga | Fortuna Dusseldorf - Hertha Berlin

I just can not miss out this bet, although it took a long time for me to arrive at a decision. I can not imagine that Hertha will lose tonight. A home win will be nearly impossible, I will try to explain you why. First of all I will start with home teams lineup as usual:

Ratajczak - Weber, Lukimya-Mulong, Langeneke, van den Bergh - Costa, Zoundi, Christ, Dum - Torghelle, Jovanovic

Fortuna Dusseldorf did a big mistake in the summer break. Last season their great success based on their phenomenal defense, mainly on Bamba Anderson (Dusseldorf received only 1 goal against at home in 2010 so far). He was the best defender from the 2. Bundesliga by far but Borussia Mönchengladbach bought him. Instead of him they bought Lukimya, an average defender from a 3. Liga team who showed poor performances so far. He is just not nearly as good as Bamba Anderson and as we said above, Dusseldorfs success only based on their great defense. Having a great defense and counter attacking at home - that was their style of playing at home. In any case their defense is not their strength anymore but their weak point. The midfield was their weakpoint last season, their midfield players were not able to connect the gap beetween defense and offensive. But they did not correct the defects. They bought Thiago Rockenbach da Silva (solid player from a 3. Liga team) and Sascha Dum who failed at Energie Cottbus last year. Zoundi is bad in my opinion, playmaker Christ is solid but not comparable to players from Hertha. Important midfield player Fink teared a muscle and thus he will be out, team captain Lambertz was injured for a while and he is not back too his old form (not even sure if he will play tonight). Their strikers Torghelle and Jovanovic are in a crisis at the moment. Torghelle was very poor in Cottbus last weekend, he missed out big opportunities, Jovanovic was injured for a long time and he is still not as good as before he is injury (Dusseldorf lost their best strikers Oehrl and Harnik by the way).

Moreover the atmosphere in Dusseldorf is not as good as last year. Dusseldorfs test games were poor, I have seen them a few times and their bad defense shocked me. Thus they lost in the "DFB Cup" against an average 3. Liga team (TuS Koblenz) with 0:1 and away in Cottbus with 0:2. I saw the game in Cottbus. I admit that they had a couple of good counter opportunities but the game tonight will be different because they will have to make the game. But Cottbus' strong offensive exploit Dusseldorfs weak defense and therefore Cottbus won 2:0, quite deserved.

Concluding we can say that Dusseldorf lost a few important players: defense boss Bamba Anderson, best strikers Oehrl and Harnik, midfield substitutes Sieger, Heidinger and Caillas and a couple of other players. Dusseldorf sold the heart of the team. That was definitely the wrong decision.
The fans start to be critical with Dusseldorf (last year Dusseldorf fell into euphoria). "Only" 30-35k fans in the stadium, not as much as it would have been last year.

Let's have a detailed look on Herthas situation, starting with their possible line-up today:

Aerts - Lell, Hubnik, Mijatovic, Kobiashvili - Perdedaj, Niemeyer - Ramos, Domovchiyski, Rukavytsya - Friend

Of course Herthas debut against Oberhausen (3:2) was not a fast-selling item. Oberhausen is stronger than last year, Hertha was nervous and they conceded an early goal. The defense has big, big quality but their defense is not well-practised so far. But it will be better from game to game. Look at their names, Lell, a player who was regular for FC Bayern Munich, Kobisvhili who played more than 200 games for Schalke 04 and so on. The atmosphere in Berlin is really good, it was so important to win against Oberhausen on first matchday and of course it was fully deserved. Niemeyer played fantastic in my opinion, a strong debut by him. Ramos - of course the best player from the league next to Raffael - was motivated although newspapers wrote that he is uncontent with his current situation. He gave his best and his quality is simply very high. Domovchiyski is a fighter, not as good as Ramos but he scored against Oberhausen and he was the big suprise in Herthas team. Rukavytsya, an Australian international, showed that he has big potential, too.
And at last Rob Friend will be back in the team again. Last week he had misfortune when he was concussed early in the game (and therfore substituted very early).
Moreover Raffael, superstar from Hertha BSC, is back to the substitutes bench after his illness. Coach Babbel said that Raffael will probably play and if I picture to myself that he will play against Dusseldorfs poor defense, I expect goals for Hertha.

Hertha has the biggest quality in the league and the atmosphere in Berlin is really good. Dusseldorf is under pressure, maybe they will be that nervous like Hertha last week, Hertha can be more relaxed than last week. Hertha will get counter opportunities with their fantastic offensive against Dusseldorfs bad attuned defense. So I just can not imagine that Dusseldorf will win tonight.

My heart says Dusseldorf, my mind says Hertha. But if we are looking on facts, Hertha will win tonight. Dusseldorf is in a crisis, Hertha will exploit it. I expect a very difficult season for Dusseldorf and they will lose tonight if Hertha won't play arrogant (but they won't do).


Pick: Hertha Berlin (+0) @1,83 (Pinnacle) , 4/10

[DSQUAREDLOL]

Originally Posted by DSQUAREDLOL

Last bet for next two weeks (break next weekend):

30.08.2010, 20:15h | 2. Bundesliga | Fortuna Dusseldorf - Hertha Berlin

I just can not miss out this bet, although it took a long time for me to arrive at a decision. I can not imagine that Hertha will lose tonight. A home win will be nearly impossible, I will try to explain you why. First of all I will start with home teams lineup as usual:

Ratajczak - Weber, Lukimya-Mulong, Langeneke, van den Bergh - Costa, Zoundi, Christ, Dum - Torghelle, Jovanovic

Fortuna Dusseldorf did a big mistake in the summer break. Last season their great success based on their phenomenal defense, mainly on Bamba Anderson (Dusseldorf received only 1 goal against at home in 2010 so far). He was the best defender from the 2. Bundesliga by far but Borussia Mönchengladbach bought him. Instead of him they bought Lukimya, an average defender from a 3. Liga team who showed poor performances so far. He is just not nearly as good as Bamba Anderson and as we said above, Dusseldorfs success only based on their great defense. Having a great defense and counter attacking at home - that was their style of playing at home. In any case their defense is not their strength anymore but their weak point. The midfield was their weakpoint last season, their midfield players were not able to connect the gap beetween defense and offensive. But they did not correct the defects. They bought Thiago Rockenbach da Silva (solid player from a 3. Liga team) and Sascha Dum who failed at Energie Cottbus last year. Zoundi is bad in my opinion, playmaker Christ is solid but not comparable to players from Hertha. Important midfield player Fink teared a muscle and thus he will be out, team captain Lambertz was injured for a while and he is not back too his old form (not even sure if he will play tonight). Their strikers Torghelle and Jovanovic are in a crisis at the moment. Torghelle was very poor in Cottbus last weekend, he missed out big opportunities, Jovanovic was injured for a long time and he is still not as good as before he is injury (Dusseldorf lost their best strikers Oehrl and Harnik by the way).

Moreover the atmosphere in Dusseldorf is not as good as last year. Dusseldorfs test games were poor, I have seen them a few times and their bad defense shocked me. Thus they lost in the "DFB Cup" against an average 3. Liga team (TuS Koblenz) with 0:1 and away in Cottbus with 0:2. I saw the game in Cottbus. I admit that they had a couple of good counter opportunities but the game tonight will be different because they will have to make the game. But Cottbus' strong offensive exploit Dusseldorfs weak defense and therefore Cottbus won 2:0, quite deserved.

Concluding we can say that Dusseldorf lost a few important players: defense boss Bamba Anderson, best strikers Oehrl and Harnik, midfield substitutes Sieger, Heidinger and Caillas and a couple of other players. Dusseldorf sold the heart of the team. That was definitely the wrong decision.
The fans start to be critical with Dusseldorf (last year Dusseldorf fell into euphoria). "Only" 30-35k fans in the stadium, not as much as it would have been last year.

Let's have a detailed look on Herthas situation, starting with their possible line-up today:

Aerts - Lell, Hubnik, Mijatovic, Kobiashvili - Perdedaj, Niemeyer - Ramos, Domovchiyski, Rukavytsya - Friend

Of course Herthas debut against Oberhausen (3:2) was not a fast-selling item. Oberhausen is stronger than last year, Hertha was nervous and they conceded an early goal. The defense has big, big quality but their defense is not well-practised so far. But it will be better from game to game. Look at their names, Lell, a player who was regular for FC Bayern Munich, Kobisvhili who played more than 200 games for Schalke 04 and so on. The atmosphere in Berlin is really good, it was so important to win against Oberhausen on first matchday and of course it was fully deserved. Niemeyer played fantastic in my opinion, a strong debut by him. Ramos - of course the best player from the league next to Raffael - was motivated although newspapers wrote that he is uncontent with his current situation. He gave his best and his quality is simply very high. Domovchiyski is a fighter, not as good as Ramos but he scored against Oberhausen and he was the big suprise in Herthas team. Rukavytsya, an Australian international, showed that he has big potential, too.
And at last Rob Friend will be back in the team again. Last week he had misfortune when he was concussed early in the game (and therfore substituted very early).
Moreover Raffael, superstar from Hertha BSC, is back to the substitutes bench after his illness. Coach Babbel said that Raffael will probably play and if I picture to myself that he will play against Dusseldorfs poor defense, I expect goals for Hertha.

Hertha has the biggest quality in the league and the atmosphere in Berlin is really good. Dusseldorf is under pressure, maybe they will be that nervous like Hertha last week, Hertha can be more relaxed than last week. Hertha will get counter opportunities with their fantastic offensive against Dusseldorfs bad attuned defense. So I just can not imagine that Dusseldorf will win tonight.

My heart says Dusseldorf, my mind says Hertha. But if we are looking on facts, Hertha will win tonight. Dusseldorf is in a crisis, Hertha will exploit it. I expect a very difficult season for Dusseldorf and they will lose tonight if Hertha won't play arrogant (but they won't do).


Pick: Hertha Berlin (+0) @1,83 (Pinnacle) , 4/10

FT 1:2

+ 3.32 u

4 of 4, good weekend. Dusseldorf started better, Hertha explited a mistake by Dusseldorfs defense to 1:0. Dusseldorf was shocked and Hertha raised to 2:0. In the 2nd half time Dusseldorf put Herthas defense under pressue, they had a few opportunities and scored with a shot from 35m distance in the 81th minut. All in all this away win is deserved but a draw would have been deserved also.