There are only two matchweeks left in Bundesliga play and Borussia Monchengladbach head to Paderborn on the outside looking in at a Champions League spot. After two losses in their previous three games, Die Fohlen are one point behind Bayer Leverkusen but a trip wet to Benteler Arena is just what the doctor ordered. Paderborn are in dead last in the Bundesliga and were officially relegated Tuesday after an own goal sealed their fate in a 1-0 loss to Union Berlin.
These teams met December 18 at Borussia Park in the North Rhine and M’gladbach picked up a 2-0 win with a pair of second-half goals. Alassane Plea scored right after the restart while captain Lars Stindl put the match away with a 67th minute penalty kick. Yann Sommer made those goals stand up with two saves to earn the clean sheet.
Borussia Monchengladbach Betting Preview: Play for Europe
The Prussians picked up the three points they needed to stay in Champions League contention with a 3-0 win over sixth-place Wolfsburg on Tuesday. Jonas Hofmann got the home side going with a goal in the 10th minute and then he got his brace 20 minutes later. Stindl put the game away with a goal in the 65th minute while Sommer made one save.
On the season Marcus Thuram leads the team with 14 total goals, 10 in league play while Plea has 10 league goals and a team-best 11 assists. Sommer has played all 32 games in goal and the Swiss keeper has seven clean sheets to go with 18 wins. Though they have two straight road losses, the Foals have seven road wins on the season and three draws to total 24 points in 16 games away from Borussia Park.
M’gladbach cannot clinch a Champions League spot on Saturday but they could be eliminated from contention if they lose and Leverkusen beat Hertha Berlin to move to 63 points. A draw or a win for the Prussians means the battle will head to the final matchweek when they host Hertha and Leverkusen travel to Mainz.
SC Paderborn Betting Preview: Battle for Europe
Tuesday’s game was heartbreak for Paderborn as their relegation was secured after just one season up from 2. Bundesliga. The only goal of the game was an own goal scored by Paderborn’s Ben Zolinski in the 27th minute as the Union free kick deflected off the winger’s head and into the back of the net.
Overall Tuesday was their 13th straight game without a win as they last earned all three points with a 2-0 win at Freiburg on January 25. Since the restart they have three losses and four draws with just four total goals scored.
On the season Streli Mamba has a team-high six goals while Dennis Srbeny has scored five times. Kai Proger leads the team with six assists for the lowest scoring team in the Bundesliga. Leopold Zingerle has five clean sheets in 26 starts while allowing 51 goals.
Borussia Monchengladbach/SC Paderborn Betting Lines By Scoresandstats
M’gladbach win –357
Paderborn win +772
Draw +482
Over/Under: 3.5 goals (O -120, U -109)
With Bayern Munich clinching the league mid-week, all eyes turn to the next positions as BVB battle RB Leipzig for second and Leverkusen/M’gladbach take on lower teams looking for three points. For M’gladbach it comes down to playing two teams in the bottom half of the table the last two weeks. While they need some help with a Leverkusen draw or loss, they should be able to take care of Paderborn and take all three points this weekend. And if they can’t, well then quite frankly they don’t deserve to be in next year’s Champions League anyway.
My Bookie Free Pick: Take the Over 3 ½ goals (-120). When betting the OVER – do so at our favorite pay per head bookie site https://streetbettings.com/software-for-bookmakers/
