As the Bundesliga returns with a bang, all eyes are on the clash between Borussia Dortmund and Koln, where goals are expected to flow.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the Leagues Cup final sees Lionel Messi's Inter Miami take on Nashville SC. With Messi's dazzling form and Nashville's home advantage, this final promises to be a thrilling encounter.
Here's our take on these exciting matchups and the best bets to consider.
Borussia Dortmund v Koln, Saturday, 5.30pm
The Bundesliga makes a triumphant return this weekend, with several eye-catching encounters which surely won’t fail to deliver the goods in terms of entertaining value. One clash is of particular interest to me and that comes in the Saturday evening battle at Signal Iduna Park when Borussia Dortmund welcomes Koln. Both meetings last season produced at least five goals, so fingers crossed we see a repeat this weekend.
Dortmund are just eager to get the ball rolling again after the manner in which last season ended for them. They went into the final game with the destiny of the title in their own hands, and somehow they couldn’t make it count as Bayern Munich once again secured the league title for the 11th straight season. They begin this campaign minus two key players from recent years in Jude Bellingham and Raphael Guerreiro, but the additions of Marcel Sabitzer and Ramy Bensebaini ensure they aren’t lacking in quality. Koln will start a third full season under the management of the passionate and somewhat entertaining Steffen Baumgart, meaning they should again remain an exciting team to follow week-to-week.
Looking ahead to this weekend, both enter this on the back of cup clashes, with neither side falling victim to a shock loss against lower-league opposition. Koln were made to sweat by second-tier VfL Osnabruck before eventually prevailing to extra time. BVB made light work of Schott Mainz of the fourth division with a strong 6-1 victory, but tougher tests await, starting with Saturday.
Both teams blew off the cobwebs to a degree last weekend, meaning they can enter the league campaign hopefully without any nerves. We know how Dortmund will play, which will see them spread the ball around, commit bodies forward and play with freedom. Koln shall likely aim to play more on the counterattack, and they are not without a chance here, despite being priced up as huge outsiders.
Goals does appear to be the best angle of approach here. There isn’t really big pressure on the first game and I suspect goals will flow across most games across the card. Here, my concern with Dortmund is that they are likely to field quite an offensive-heavy side, especially if their line-up last weekend is anything to go by. By all accounts, you could argue they only had two defensive players on the pitch in the form of the two centre-backs. Both fullbacks love to get forward, whilst Sabitzer and Can in midfield won’t hesitate to get forward. Sule went off injured, so he may be missing, so defensively they may be below full strength. They still conceded last weekend despite heavily dominating the ball and Schott Mainz only having two shots on goal. Ten of their 17 home matches last season featured both teams scoring, proving they aren’t completely reliable defensively.
Koln did struggle in front of goal last season, failing to score on 13 occasions. However, Dortmund matches tend to be open affairs and they will get openings on their own. They netted four goals against this opposition last season, whilst Waldschmidt and Selke have been in decent scoring form in pre-season. I have to jump onto the 1.91 offered by BoyleSports of Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals. I don’t have faith in Dortmund defensively, even though they’re still likely winners on Saturday.
Nashville SC v Inter Miami, Sunday 2 am
Do try your best to stay awake in the early hours of Saturday night/Sunday morning for the final of the Leagues Cup, which has been a very successful addition to the football calendar this year. If you have been following this tournament with interest, you’ll know doubt be well-versed in techniques to avoid drifting off to sleep, and the impact of Lionel Messi will certainly have helped keep your eyes fixed to the screen! His Inter Miami outfit will make the trip to take on Nashville SC, in what should be a great final for the neutral. The eventual champions not only receive the trophy, but also a spot in the last 16 of next season’s CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Even if you are the greatest follower of football in this part of the world, you’d have had to be living on Mars to not have seen the impact Messi has had since making his high profile switch to MLS with Inter Miami. Whilst not one player makes a team, in this case, it is pretty close, as prior to his arrival the team were in no real great shakes. They sit bottom of the Eastern Conference with only five wins to their name, but Messi has only played solely in Leagues Cup action since joining, and they’ve won all six matches in this competition, including one victory on penalties. In that period, Messi has netted a whopping nine goals, so it is fair to say he has had a big impact!
He has had help from some familiar faces in the form of ex-Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, just the sheer involvement of those top players undoubtedly raised the levels of others in the squad. Prior to Messi and co-signing Nashville would be favourites going into this final, but Miami enter this contest and expected to win, despite not having a home advantage. Messi is obviously a big reason for this.
Nashville have impressed the more they have played in this format. They did enough to get out of the group, whilst the next two knockout rounds they were involved in saw them go through extra time and prevail on penalties. Defeating fellow MLS side Minnesota United 5-0 and then impressively despatch Mexican giants Monterrey 2-0 means confidence is high, and they believe they can rock their now star-studded opponents. Home-field advantage is key, especially as they’ve won eight MLS home matches this season already.
Whilst Messi does get the headlines, and understandably so, there is more to this Inter Miami side than him. He cannot do it all on his own like you would on a PlayStation game, but he is deadly in and around the final third. Prices on him just to score anytime continue to drop game-by-game, so we’re not going to get rich backing that selection. I do however think he will be on the winning team here, and may concern for Nashville is that they will have to soak up a lot of pressure here, even playing at home. They had issues with this earlier in the competition against Toluca, and for all Miami are associated with what they do in attack, defensively they are pretty tight as well. Also, to go away and win 4-1 against Philadelphia Union in Subaru Park is all I need to know about this team. They are the real deal at the moment, as that is a very, very tough place to get anything from.
I’m happy to keep it simple and back an Inter Miami victory inside 90 minutes at 2.20 with 10Bet. I suspect that price will only drop the nearer we get to kick-off, as not all bookies have priced it up yet at the time of writing.
Betting Tips
- Borussia Dortmund v Koln – Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals (1.91 BoyleSports)
- Nashville SC v Inter Miami – Inter Miami (2.20 10Bet)
