After a frantic week we have a stacked Friday card to look forward to and I'm hoping to make a winning start to the weekend with a Bundesliga Bet Builder
Werder Bremen vs FC Koln (Friday, 19:30)
Werder Bremen will be looking to extend their five-match unbeaten run when they welcome Koln to the Weser Stadium on Friday night.
The River Islanders have recovered well from a bruising 4-1 opening day setback at home Hertha Berlin by winning two and drawing three of their five subsequent fixtures.
Florian Kohfeldt's side narrowly beat the drop last term and on Friday night they will come up against a Koln outfit who themselves look set to be gearing up for a scrap for survival.
Markus Gisdol's men endured a miserable end to the last campaign where they failed to win any of their final 10 league matches and they are winless across their first six Bundesliga bouts of the new season.
Having said that, the Billy Goats made Bayern Munich work hard for their 2-1 win last time out and there were signs of recovery during recent draws with Frankfurt and Stuttgart.
Given that five of the last six Bundesliga matches involving either of these sides have ended all-square I'm going to steer clear of the more traditional markets, however, there is an alternative angle that has caught my eye when making use of the Bet 365 Bet Builder feature.
The combination that I'm going to pull together to present us with a backable 4/5 punt is over one match goal, over zero Werder Bremen goals, over five match corners and both teams to collect at least one card.
Five of the last six Bundesliga matches involving these sides have seen both teams get on the scoresheet and eight of the Billy Goats last 11 Bundesliga road trips have generated three or more strikes.
When digging slightly deeper it can be seen that 16 of Koln's last 17 league matches have seen both teams oblige, while Bremen's brittle backline have chalked up just one clean sheet in their last 13 German top-flight tussles.
With an action-packed night anticipated at the Weser Stadium I'm also happy to back both teams to receive at least one card in what should be a closely-fought contest.
Koln are averaging three cards per game this season – the highest in the division – and Werder Bremen are not far behind with their 2.33 bookings per game average.
Given that Koln fixtures are producing 9.33 corners on average I'll also add in over five match corners to help nudge the price up and it's also worth noting that the above-mentioned Bet Builder would have banked in five of the Billy Goats six Bundesliga outings so far.
Recommended Bet
- Over 1 Match Goal, Over 0 Werder Bremen Goals, Over 5 Match Corners, Werder Bremen Over 0 Cards & FC Koln Over 0 Cards – Bet Builder – 4/5 (Bet 365)
Freelance Sports Writer and Betting Analyst with over five years experience. I’ve written football and darts betting content for some of the biggest betting websites and newspapers in the UK. With a strong passion for the fascinating world of Scottish football, I also regularly feature in Nutmeg, the much-loved Scottish football magazine. Falkirk season ticket holder and avid watcher of football and darts, whether it be UK-based or further afield. Feel free to follow me on X @SlipsTips
