Bundesliga 2021/22 Matchweek 18 preview, best bets & top odds

Bayern Munich will get the chance to defeat one of the three clubs it hasn’t beaten this Friday at home against Monchengladbach. We’ve got a play in this matchup as well as picks in the Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Borussia Dortmund and Leverkusen vs. Union Berlin games in this weekend’s Bundesliga Matchweek 18 best bets.

Bayern Munich vs. Monchengladbach

Bayern Munich (14-1-2) has opened up a nine-point lead over Borussia Dortmund atop the Bundesliga table having earned 43 out of a possible 51 points this season in league play. Two of the eight points Bayern missed out on came in the club’s season-opening 1-1 draw against Monchengladbach (5-4-8). Monchengladbach has inexplicably fared well against Bayern of late with a 2-1-0 record in its last three matches against the defending champions that includes a 5-0 win in the DFB-Pokal back in October.

Will this unexpected run of success continue? Bayern Munich is 5-0-0 over its last five matches and has outscored its last two opponents by a combined score of 9-0. Monchengladbach is 0-1-4 over its last five matches overall and 0-2-3 in its last five road matches. Look for Bayern to buck this recent trend with a multi-goal win on Friday.

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Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund (11-1-5) entered Bundesliga’s holiday break on a 1-1-2 skid after losing 3-2 to Hertha BSC on the road. Dortmund has been elite at home this season with an 8-0-1 record and a +14 goal differential, but on the road the club has been quite pedestrian with a 3-1-4 record and only a +1 goal differential. Eintracht Frankfurt (7-6-4) has won each of its last three matches and is 6-0-1 over its last seven games since starting the season with a 1-6-3 record.

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Taking current form and home field advantage into account, Frankfurt is too good to pass up on here as such a big home underdog. A Dortmund win obviously wouldn’t be a surprise, especially with a break to prepare for this match; but we believe an upset happens often enough in this spot to justify a play at this price with the online bookmakers.

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Beyer Leverkusen vs. Union Berlin

Beyer Leverkusen (8-4-5) will be looking to get back on track this Saturday after having wrapped up December with an 0-1-2 run over its last three matches. Union Berlin (7-6-4) meanwhile has bounced back from a humiliating 1-0 loss to Greuther Furth with a 0-0 draw at home against SC Freiburg and a 1-0 road win at VfL Bochum.

While Union Berlin has trended towards lower-scoring matches this season, we see this one going OVER the posted total of 2.75 goals. There have been at least three goals scored in each of Leverkusen’s last five matches with an average of 5.2 total goals scored per game over that stretch. Look for Patrik Schick and Bayer Leverkusen’s offense to push the tempo at home and send this matchup to three goals or more.

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