Football betting tips: Bundesliga
Friday
1pt Over 11.5 corners in Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen (19:30) at 12/5 (General)
Saturday
1pt Denis Vavro to score anytime in Hoffenheim vs Wolfsburg (14:30) at 20/1 (Sky Bet)
1pt Konstantinos Koulierakis to score anytime in Hoffenheim vs Wolfsburg (14:30) at 16/1 (Sky Bet)
1pt Eintracht Frankfurt to beat St. Pauli (14:30) at 11/10 (General)
1pt Mönchengladbach 4+ shots on target vs Bayern (17:30) at 11/8 (bet365)
Sunday
1pt Jens Stage 1+ shots on target in RB Leipzig vs Werder Bremen (14:30) at 17/10 (Betfair, Paddy Power)
1pt Over 11.5 corners in Augsburg vs Stuttgart (16:30) at 21/10 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
The FA Cup third round is the main event of the footballing weekend and you'll find plenty of previews for those games - both televised and not - in our Tips Centre.
I've also contributed to it by putting together a 'shocks' piece where I try and identify where the upsets could come across the weekend. You can read that by clicking here.
What that means for the Weekend Tips column is that I've got a bit of freedom to go elsewhere.
The Bundesliga returns following its winter break this weekend and I'm going to make the most of it. Only contests in Germany's top-flight will feature here.
There's a number of games to focus on to take us through the weekend, with some big-priced goalscorers sitting alongside shorter odds selections.
Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen
- Kick-off time: 19:30 GMT, Friday
- TV: Sky Sports Football
- Home 17/10 | Draw 13/5 | Away 11/8
The Bundesliga marks the end of the winter break with a belter as Dortmund welcome Leverkusen to the Signal Iduna Park on Friday night.
Dortmund's home form has effectively saved their season and even then they sit 6th in the Bundesliga table. Nuri Sahin's side top the home standings but are down in 13th on the road.
Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen are unbeaten on the road though which sets this up to be an intriguing contest. I do have one eye on the 6/4 best price for an away win though with 11/8 elsewhere more than fine too.
There is potential for CORNERS though and the best bets is the 12/5 on OVER 11.5 here.
Leverkusen sit second for crosses attempted in the German top-flight this season and that has helped them to top the corners taken charts with 109 across the 15 games so far.
Dortmund may be around 'mid-table' in this area but the game state may well come into play given the strength of the opposition.
Leverkusen have scored the first goal in all seven of their away league games this season and that scenario happening again would force Dortmund into chasing the game.
Given the attacking nature of both sides involved, I'll take the corners count going high.
Hoffenheim vs Wolfsburg
- Kick-off time: 14:30 GMT, Saturday
- Home 11/8 | Draw 5/2 | Away 7/4
Hoffenheim know they need to start picking up points to push themselves away from relegation trouble and they can thank Heidenheim's awful form for keeping them out of the bottom three.
The hosts sit 15th after 15 games with just three wins on their tally so far and they welcome a Wolfsburg outfit who have travelled well this season.
One strength of this Wolfsburg side this season has certainly been set-pieces. No side has scored more goals (11) from corners and free-kicks in Germany's top-flight so far.
It's why the 20/1 on DENIS VAVRO TO SCORE ANYTIME is an interesting pick here.
The Slovakia international netted his second goal of the season in their 3-1 loss to Dortmund just before the break and it's slightly surprising to see he hasn't got more on his tally considering the attacking impact.
Vavro has returned ten shots across 11 league starts and no player in this Wolfsburg squad is averaging more aerial duels won per game.
An opposition centre-back has returned a shot in five of Hoffenheim's last six contests, with Vavro scoring when these two sides met in the cup during this run.
He finished that game with a total of three shots, as did defensive partner KONSTANTINOS KOULIERAKIS, who is also worth backing at 16s.
That recent cup meeting was a huge mismatch between the sides at set-pieces. A repeat is more than possible on Saturday afternoon.
St. Pauli vs Eintracht Frankfurt
- Kick-off time: 14:30 GMT, Saturday
- Home 5/2 | Draw 5/2 | Away evens
A meeting of two teams battling at opposite ends of the table - Eintracht Frankfurt can push themselves further into the top four with victory away at St. Pauli on Saturday.
The winter break did come at a good time for the visitors though who were without a win in five across all competitions - four of those ended in defeat.
Having now had a few weeks to get themselves back into the right place, well we hope, I'm happy to side with the 11/10 with a few bookmakers on an EINTRACHT FRANKFURT WIN.
Essentially, the issue for the visitors this season has been picking up points against the better teams.
In five games against others in the top six, Dino Toppmöller's side have lost four and drawn one - that being the 3-3 at home against Bayern at the start of October.
In the ten games against those sat seventh of lower, they've won eight and drawn two. That run includes a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim (15th), a 4-0 away with at Heidenheim (16th), 4-2 at Holstein Kiel (17th) and a 7-2 thrashing of Bochum (18th).
St. Pauli currently sit 14th, level on points with Hoffenheim. They've also been beaten in six of their seven games against those in the top eight with their only point being the 0-0 with RB Leipzig.
The visitors have enjoyed playing those at the bottom this season. That can continue here.
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Bayern Munich
- Kick-off time: 17:30 GMT, Saturday
- TV: Sky Sports Football
- Home 11/2 | Draw 4/1 | Away 2/5
A slip-up against Mainz cut left Bayern Munich's lead at the top sitting at four points going into the winter break and they'll be keen to avoid any further issues when they travel to Borussia Mönchengladbach in Saturday's late kick-off.
Mönchengladbach are in the cluster of teams battling to be in the top four. They may be eighth but only three points separates themselves and Leipzig in fourth ahead of the weekend.
They've lost in games to Eintracht Frankfurt and Leverkusen though with Werder Bremen the only side currently sat above them who they have beaten this season.
While Bayern may have put five past both Bremen and Leipzig, they dropped points in Dortmund and Frankfurt while also being held at home by Leverkusen. That sits alongside the defeat to Mainz.
So the hosts may have some hope, but instead of taking the big price on them winning, I'm happy to settle on the 11/8 for MÖNCHENGLADBACH 4+ SHOTS ON TARGET.
To clarify, this means we're backing them to see four or more shots on target in the game, something they have regularly achieved throughout the season.
They've achieved this in four of their last six home contests, with the two that fell short returning three in each. It's also worth noting that they unbeaten run at home currently stands at six, five of those being wins.
While Bayern may not typically concede plenty of opportunities, the number is increased in away games at the 'better sides'. Eintracht Frankfurt had four in that 3-3 draw mentioned previously.
The price is big enough on a low line to draw some interest.
RB Leipzig vs Werder Bremen
- Kick-off time: 14:30 GMT, Sunday
- TV: Sky Sports+
- Home 8/11 | Draw 3/1 | Away 3/1
Werder Bremen are enjoying a great campaign as they sit seventh in the standings with just two points separating themselves and the Champions League places at this stage.
The team currently in that last spot is RB Leipzig who will know the importance of a positive result here in their own aspirations of competing in Europe's elite club competition.
The problem Werder have is that Mainz are the only side sat above them that they've beaten. Home points against Dortmund and Leverkusen are positives but they shipped five to Bayern and lost 4-1 away at eighth-placed Mönchengladbach.
The one price that does jump out in this game is the 17/10 on JENS STAGE 1+ SHOTS ON TARGET.
The Bremen midfielder has returned a shot in each of his last five appearances with goals coming in four of those games across this period.
Stage also netted a hat-trick from four shots in the away thriller at Hoffenheim at the end of September with three shots in the win over Mainz a couple of weeks prior.
His shot volume isn't high but he's fairly accurate with placing his efforts. Only Marvin Ducksch (16) and Mitchell Weiser (9) have returned more efforts on target in this Werder squad.
Stage is a strong attacking player because he delivers in a variety of areas. He's shown he can strike from range or convert when sprinting into the box to connect with a cross.
He's also demonstrated an ability to score headers often as well and while the 5/1 on him to score anytime is interesting, I'm happy enough to side with the 'safer' option at a shorter price.
Augsburg vs Stuttgart
- Kick-off time: 16:30 GMT, Sunday
- TV: Sky Sports+
- Home 5/2 | Draw 13/5 | Away 19/20
A mid-table clash for Sunday's later offering as Augsburg welcome Stuttgart, although the visitors find themselves four points adrift of the Champions League places despite sitting 10th.
The home showings have basically been the driving factor behind Augsburg's season with 14 of their 16 points gained at this stage coming in front of their own supporters.
They've picked up some decent results too, with a 2-1 win over Dortmund being the particular highlight.
I'd expect this to be quite a competitive contest which makes the 2/1 and above on OVER 11.5 CORNERS worth a play.
Stuttgart's style of play contributes in this area as they sit third for crosses attempted in the Bundesliga. It's not particularly surprising then to see that 73% of their league games have seen the corner count hit double figures.
Only St. Pauli attack through the middle less than Augsburg so they're a side who look to use their width when building in attack. Another good factor in corner betting.
And then there's the potential game state. Augsburg have conceded the first goal in nine of their 15 games which means they're often chasing and trying to find a way back in.
Stuttgart taking the lead would be ideal as you have the nice blend of game state and attacking styles but even without that, the match-up means it has a real chance.
Two of Augsburg's last three at home have seen this land as a winner. I'll back that trend to continue on Sunday.
Odds correct at 1545 GMT (09/01/25)
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