Team sports have slowly crept back into our lives, but we haven’t had a must-watch game we can all rally around yet.
That changes Tuesday afternoon, when Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund face off with the Bundesliga title on the line.
Bayern Munich has won the last seven Bundesliga titles and it comes into Tuesday with a four-point advantage over Dortmund.
If Bayern wins, it should cruise to the title, but if Dortmund comes out on top, we could have a proper title race on our hands.
Now time for the fun part: How exactly should we bet this game?
In the two games since the Bundesliga’s return, Bayern and Dortmund combined for 13 goals, and they are responsible for two of the four highest-scoring performances in the last two weeks.
They are the top two scoring teams in Germany and boast a who’s who of prolific forwards from Robert Lewandowski to Erling Haaland and beyond.
At least two tallies have been netted in their last six meetings, but it is worth noting four of the last five contests have featured a shutout by the victorious side.
There is value all over the board at DraftKings Sportsbook, so if you prefer to bet on the money line, or get fancier with props, there is plenty of cash to be won.
Der Klassiker, as they call it in Germany, kicks off a full midweek slate with four games Tuesday and five more on Wednesday.
Let’s hope for a much better betting week than what we produced over the weekend.
Bundesliga Schedule
Tuesday, May 26
Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich (12:30 p.m. ET, FS1)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Wolfsburg (2:30 p.m. ET, FS2)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Freiburg (2:30 p.m. ET)
Werder Bremen vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (2:30 p.m. ET)
Wednesday, May 27
RB Leipzig vs. Hertha Berlin (12:30 p.m. ET, FS2)
Hoffenheim vs. FC Koln (2:30 p.m. ET)
Fortuna Dusseldorf vs. Schalke (2:30 p.m. ET, FS2)
Augsburg vs. Paderborn (2:30 p.m. ET)
Union Berlin vs. Mainz (2:30 p.m. ET)
Records
Joe Tansey 11-6 (4-5 last week)
Larry Henry Jr. 4-5 (0-4 last week)
Picks
Joe Tansey
Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich
Since we’re standing on a firm foundation inside the trust tree here, I have to admit I love a lot of the props for this game.
All of the anytime goal scorer props carry value, with this being a rare time you can get Erling Haaland at plus value to score at +128.
Five different Bayern players have scored in the last two games, and Thomas Muller’s high involvement in attacking moves plus big-game experience, makes him intriguing at +188 to score.
While Haaland gets most of the shine in the Dortmund attack, Raphael Guerriero has been on fire since the hiatus ended with three goals, and at +375 to score, he carries the best value of any of the primary scorers.
Dortmund has scored five goals in its last two home games versus Bayern, so plus value on the team Over 1.5 has my interest.
The other factor to consider for all matches this week is potential fatigue. The German teams had minimal full-team training before returning and this will be the third game in 11-12 days for most.
With that in mind, and the severity of the game for both sides, I think we’ll see a free-flowing first half with plenty of scoring chances.
Picks: Raphael Guerriero to score (+375), Dortmund Team Over 1.5 (+116); Both Teams to Score in 1st Half (+215)
Werder Bremen vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
I won’t let Werder Bremen’s upset win over Freiburg Saturday deter me from picking against it Tuesday.
After all, this is still the 17th-placed team in an 18-club league that has conceded the second-most goals.
Borussia Monchengladbach needs to bounce back from a weekend loss and scored three goals in its previous two wins over Bremen.
Picks: Borussia Monchengladbach (-141); Gladbach Team Over 2.5 (+205)
RB Leipzig vs. Hertha Berlin
RB Leipzig thrashed Mainz Sunday with five goals, and if we’re being honest, it probably should have scored seven or eight.
Hertha Berlin has been one of the highest-scoring teams since the Bundesliga’s return with seven goals.
In November, the two sides combined for six goals and there’s been at least three tallies in their last six meetings.
Over 3.5 is a stone cold lead pipe lock and I’m also intrigued by Over 4.5.
Pick: Over 3.5 (+100)
Augsburg vs. Paderborn
Let’s not make this complicated.
Augsburg is riding a wave of momentum after a surprising 3-0 road win at Schalke Sunday and it returns home to play Paderborn, who is on the fast track for relegation in 18th place.
I feel like I’m stealing cash with a money line that should be a bit higher, and since this bet seems fairly straightforward, I’m going with Augsburg to have this game finished by halftime.
Picks: Augsburg ML (-110); Augsburg 1st Half ML (+145)
Larry Henry Jr.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich
It is vital for Bayern Munich to continue its dominant run of form and pull away from its top rival in the Bundesliga title race.
Bayern has won its last eight matches in all competitions, and overall hasn’t lost a match since December. Additionally, three of its last five league matches have totaled over 3.5 goals (the over for Tuesday).
Robert Lewandowski leads the league with 27 goals and has scored three goals in his last five league appearances.
Picks: Bayern Munich (-122); Over 3.5 Goals (-106); Robert Lewandowski to score (-167)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Wolfsburg
Bayer Leverkusen is riding a three-match winning streak heading into Tuesday’s showdown at the BayArena.
Kai Havertz (five goals, one assist) has been key over the last three wins, but defensively Leverkusen has only conceded two goals in that span. Leverkusen also won three of its last five matches in all competitions by two goals or more, making Tuesday’s bet very good odds for the club at home.
Wolfsburg has struggled to replicated the consistency it had during a four-game winning streak across all competitions in February.
The Wolves’ Tuesday road trip could be daunting because they haven’t played well of late, with one win coming in their last four league matches.
Picks: Bayer Leverkusen (-141); Leverkusen to win by 2 goals (+420)
Werder Bremen vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
Borussia Monchengladbach should bounce back from its loss to Bayer Leverkusen against relegation-threatened Werder Bremen.
Gladbach has won three of the last five league meetings with Bremen and tied the other two.
After putting a lot of energy into Saturday’s win over Freiburg, it seems hard to bet on Bremen to come up with the goods once again.
Picks: Borussia Monchengladbach (-141); Gladback to score first and win (-103)
Union Berlin vs. Mainz
Both of these teams are coming off lopsided losses, but my money is on Union Berlin to bounce back at home.
The hosts hold the edge on Mainz after defeating it 3-2 earlier this season Sebastian Andersson leads the club with 11 goals and was key in that victory back in November by scoring two goals.
A high-scoring affair could be in the cards since both teams need a victory to move away from the relegation zone.
Four of Union Berlin’s last five matches in all competitions have had more than four goals, while four of Mainz’s last six matches met the same total .
Picks: Union Berlin (+123), Sebastian Andersson to score (+120), Over 3.5 goals (+205)