German league champions and current holders of this trophy Bayern Munich take on Borussia Dortmund in the Semi Final of the DFB Pokal, with both teams looking to secure a victory and book their place in the final.
Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund
DFB Pokal Semi Final – Wednesday 26th April 2017 – 7:45pm
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Draw Best Odd of: 10/3 at Ladbrokes |
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Bayern Munich
Borrusia DortmundBayern Munich Recent Form
Bayern are again the team to beat in German football. They are leading the Bundesliga, as they look to become German league champions for the fifth consecutive season, and are two victories away from winning this trophy for the fourth time in five seasons.
Despite their strong position in both the league and domestic cup, their recent form hasn’t been great. Since beating Dortmund in the league earlier this month, they have been knocked out of the Champions League and only managed draws against Bayer Leverkusen and FSV Mainz 05.
Bayern have beaten Carl Zeiss Jena (5-0), Augsburg (3-1), Wolfsburg (1-0), and Schalke (3-0) to make it through to the last four in this competition.
Borussia Dortmund Recent Form
Dortmund currently sit third in the Bundesliga table and are only just clinging to their place in the top three. This competition takes on extra importance for them, as they are too far behind Bayern to mount a title challenge and are also out of European competition.
Two defeats to Monaco in the Champions League and the loss earlier this month to Bayern mean they have only won two of their last five games.
Dortmund started this competition with a 3-0 win over Eintracht Trier but then needed penalties to overcome both Union Berlin and Hertha Berlin. In the previous round, they easily beat Sportfreunde Lotte 3-0.
Head to Head Record
This is the sixth consecutive season these two teams have met in this competition. The last two have been settled by a penalty shoot-out, with Bayern winning the final last season and Dortmund winning in the semi-final the season before. The 2013/14 final also ended level after 90 minutes, with Bayern winning after extra-time. Bayern also won in the last eight in 2012/13, with the 2011/12 final won 5-2 by Dortmund.
This season, the sides have already met three times. Bayern won the Super Cup 2-0 back in August, Dortmund won 1-0 at home in a November league clash and Bayern won the most recent meeting 4-1 earlier this month.
Dortmund have an awful away record against Bayern and haven’t won as the visitors since April 2014. Since then, Bayern have won three and two have finished level.
Overall, since 1965, there have been 107 games contested between these sides and Bayern have won 50 of them. Dortmund have won 28, and there have been 29 draws.
Betting Odds and Predictions
It’s hard to back Dortmund for the win here, but anyone fancying the upset can get odds of 5/1 at Ladbrokes. With Bayern having a recent dip in form, this match is sure to be a hard-fought and tight affair. So, with the home side odds-on for victory, the sensible bet may be the draw.
The last three meetings in this competition have ended level after 90 minutes and it’s 10/3 for this to finish all-square.
Perhaps the best market to look at for this match is any involving Robert Lewandowski.
The Bayern striker is in fantastic goal scoring form this season, netting 39 times in 42 appearances in all competition. He is top scorer in this competition, with five goals, and he should be a good bet to score in this match.
The Polish striker is 5/2 to score first and 7/10 to find the net anytime during the 90 minutes. Backing him to find the net more than once may provide the best value. He has scored four hat-tricks for Bayern this season and is 8/1 to do so in this match. It’s also 2/1 for him to score 2+ goals, which is something he has done on eight separate occasions this season.
If you want to back someone else in the first or anytime goal scorer market, Arjen Robben should be the player to back. The Dutchman has scored 13 goals this season, including against Mainz at the weekend. It’s 4/1 for him to score first and 13/10 to score anytime.
A good outside bet in the anytime goal scorer market is Dortmund’s Marco Reus. He has netted in the last three matches and is 12/5 to score during the 90 minutes.
Top Betting Tip
With matches between these sides in this competition being so even previously, the draw after 90 minutes looks to be the best bet with odds of 10/3 at Ladbrokes.