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You may know Raph from his excellent work on BT Sport where he shares his knowledge of the European game and we're hoping he can make some of that know-how pay for us on MrFixitsTips. Best of luck Raphael!
Borussia Monchengladbach v Borussia Dortmund (Sun 5pm)
“Four defeats in five is a catastrophe,” was the assessment from Gladbach defender Tony Jantschke after they lost 1-0 at Stuttgart last Sunday.
“Currently we don’t need to talk about Europe,” he added, but the problem for Gladbach is that’s exactly they were meant to be returning to this season.
With no European football in the fixture list this season and with the quality available at his disposal, Dieter Hecking has struggled to get the most out of what is still a talented squad.
The reliance on Raffael and Thorgan Hazard to come up with a moment of individual brilliance to bail them out seems to have become too much whilst captain Lars Stindl hasn’t scored in the Bundesliga for over 16 hours.
They’re still only three points off Schalke in the Europa League places but not scoring in their last three games speaks of a confidence crisis up front.
That is something that Borussia Dortmund are not suffering from at present. Even if they played a very poor first half against Hamburg last weekend, they still won with Michy Batshuayi on target. Then against Atalanta, Batshuayi did the business again making it five goals in three games since arriving in Dortmund.
“You can see that he is happy to be here and he wants to prove himself. The aims of the club and what he wants personally are working well together right now,” said coach Peter Stöger on Thursday evening.
Gladbach are the only team to have beaten Bayern since Jupp Heynckes returned but they are unlikely to edge Dortmund as well.
Raphael's Tips
- Gladbach 1, Dortmund 2 (15-2, Unibet)
- Batshuayi to score first (23-5, Unibet)
- Dortmund win (123-100, Unibet)
Munich-born Raphael Honigstein writes about football for Germany’s biggest broadsheet, Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Guardian, ESPNFC and his tips appear here thanks to our football partner at MrFixitsTips, Unibet. They're making a big splash in the UK betting scene and if you join them today you can claim up to £30 in Welcome Bonuses when you deposit and place your first bet.
Munich-born Raphael Honigstein writes about football for Germany’s biggest broadsheet, Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Guardian, ESPNFC and others. He’s a regular pundit on BT Sport’s European Football Show and the author of “Englischer Fussball: A German View of Our Beautiful Game”. His favourite food is Schnitzel, predictably.
What about Augsburg? Would it be a trap and first Stuttgart win?