Heidenheim vs Fortuna Dusseldorf
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Today’s free tip is in the German Bundesliga 2 encounter between Heidenheim and Fortuna Dusseldorf.
I’ve taken a little bit of a gamble here, folks. On paper, I have to consider Fortuna Dusseldorf to be the superior team here. I mean, barring a couple of minor changes, they’re the same team that competed in the Bundesliga last season. They may have been pretty dismal at the start of that campaign, but they were heroic in the second-half of it, and arguably should have stayed up, only being relegated on the final day.
This season, however, Fortuna have never really got going. I know they’ve had injury problems but it’s not their quality I’ve had an issue with; it’s their application. It’s like they returned to the Bundesliga 2 with the idea that they could breeze through it, which is an extremely dangerous attitude to adopt – just as Hamburger SV can testify! I honestly didn’t see that problem arising though, not after the way they fought against relegation. It’s been quite disappointing, actually.
See, the club as a whole has behaved impeccably. Most clubs would sack their manager after relegation, but not Fortuna; they kept the faith with Rosler. I admire that. More clubs should behave in that way, and they’d find out the ‘truth’ far more easily. Despite all of these good things though, Fortuna have not performed consistently well this season; only in occasional bursts. They only just managed to beat Hannover 96 at home last time out, who were without some of their best attackers in that match, and yet it still ended 3-2!
I do rate Fortuna highly but until they prove it on the pitch, I just can’t take them seriously. This is the time of season when things should be coming together for them as they bid to return to the Bundesliga but there are zero signs of that happening. For today’s trip to Heidenheim, their task has been made even harder with impressive Japanese midfielder Appelkamp and Polish striker Kownacki joining the regulars on the sidelines. It’s difficult to oppose a team like this, knowing how good they can be, but whilst they play as they are, and are missing those players, I think it makes sense to try betting against them.
The other side of the coin is that Heidenheim are now better than they were at the start of the season. They had to contend with losing Dorsch, Kleindienst, and Griesbeck pre-season – three of their best players, not to mention top goal-scorer! It took them a bit of time before they settled back into some kind of rhythm, which ultimately made them hard to beat again. They weren’t as effective as last season though, even though they found the perfect replacement for Kleindienst in Kuhlwetter, whether playing up front or cutting inside from the flank.
The above wasn’t enough for Heidenheim, though. They’re a very progressive club, and the fact that they’ve trusted boss Schmidt to lead them for fourteen(!) years now tells you all you need to know about the purposeful strides of the club. Their loyalty attracts loyalty, and their football style encourages players worthy of better levels to play for them too. Subsequently, they went out last month and managed to re-sign beanpole striker Kleindienst, whom Schmidt intends on playing with Kuhlwetter in a slight formation shift, which has naturally led to Heidenheim scoring more goals lately. Whether it’s him that’s pulled the trigger or not, since Kleindienst returned, Heidenheim have bagged nine goals in five games, and I for one am not surprised.
Although a promotion push is probably out of the question for them this season, a strong end to the season is very likely with such a dangerous attack now. Kuhlwetter and Kleindienst are simply too hard to handle, particularly when Schnatterer, Theuerkauf, and Mohr are on the park – and I’ll always like Kerschbaumer’s contribution too. This is a naturally industrious team that is used to not being especially good so when you add that sprinkling of quality, they tend to morph into one hell of a machine – and that’s what we’ve seen glimpses of recently.
Therefore, I feel like I want to back Heidenheim with draw no bet cover today. The odds are worth the risk, and I really don’t think they’ll lose. Fortuna have the potential to turn it on, but given that they haven’t actually done so in quite a while now, I’m happy to take my chances in opposing them.
Verdict: Heidenheim to win with draw no bet at 83/100.
Sunday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Australian A-League:
Sydney FC vs Macarthur FC
Newcastle Jets vs Wellington Phoenix
Austrian Bundesliga:
Wolfsberger AC vs SCR Altach
St. Polten vs Austria Vienna
Sturm Graz vs Salzburg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Standard de Liege vs RSC Anderlecht
Germinal Beerschot vs Royal Excel Mouscron
Sint-Truiden vs AS Eupen
Bulgarian A PFG:
Botev Vratsa vs Tsarsko selo
Botev Plovdiv vs Montana
CSKA 1948 Sofia vs Levski Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Gorica vs Istra 1961
Dinamo Zagreb vs Slaven Koprivnica
Czechia Liga 1:
Sigma Olomouc vs Zlin
Mlada Boleslav vs Karvina
Slovacko vs Slavia Prague
Danish Superligaen:
OB vs Randers
FC Nordsjaelland vs Aalborg BK
FC Copenhagen vs AGF
FC Midtjylland vs Brondby
English Premier League:
Crystal Palace vs Fulham
Leicester City vs Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley
Chelsea vs Manchester United
Sheffield United vs Liverpool
Estonian Super Cup:
Flora Tallinn vs Flora Paide
Faroese Super Cup:
HB Torshavn vs NSI Runavik
French Ligue 1:
AS Monaco vs Stade Brestois
Angers SCO vs Racing Club Lens
Lorient vs AS Saint-Etienne
Nimes Olympique vs FC Nantes Atlantique
Stade de Reims vs Montpellier HSC
Lille OSC vs Racing Club Strasbourg
Olympique de Marseille vs Olympique Lyonnais
German Bundesliga:
Union Berlin vs TSG Hoffenheim
Mainz 05 vs Augsburg
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs SC Freiburg
German Bundesliga 2:
Heidenheim vs Fortuna Dusseldorf
SV Sandhausen vs VfL Osnabruck
Nurnberg vs Eintracht Braunschweig
Hungarian Liga 1:
Paksi SE vs Ujpest
Zalaegerszegi TE vs Fehervar
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Hapoel Be’er Sheva vs Beitar Jerusalem
Italian Serie A:
Sampdoria vs Atalanta Bergamo
Crotone vs Cagliari
Udinese vs ACF Fiorentina
Internazionale vs Genoa
SSC Napoli vs Benevento
AS Roma vs AC Milan
Dutch Eredivisie:
Sparta Rotterdam vs Willem II
FC Groningen vs Fortuna Sittard
PSV Eindhoven vs AFC Ajax Amsterdam
AZ Alkmaar vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
Portuguese Liga 1:
Portimonense vs Maritimo Funchal
Tondela vs Gil Vicente
CD Nacional de Madeira vs Sporting Braga
Portuguese Liga 2:
Estoril vs SL Benfica II
Mafra vs Penafiel
Casa Pia vs UD Oliveirense
Leixoes Matosinhos vs Academico Viseu
Russian Premier League:
Spartak Moscow vs Rubin Kazan
Akhmat Grozny vs Dinamo Moscow
FK Krasnodar vs Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast
Spanish Primera Liga:
Celta de Vigo vs Real Valladolid
Cadiz vs Real Betis Balompie
Granada vs Elche
Villarreal vs Atletico Madrid
Swedish Svenska Cupen:
Sandviken vs IFK Norrkoping
IFK Goteborg vs GIF Sundsvall
Lodde vs Orebro
Sirius vs Trelleborg FF
Falkenberg vs Degerfors
Kalmar FF vs Brage
Oskarshamns AIK vs Hammarby
Utsikten vs Elfsbog Boras
Umea vs Djurgarden
Swiss Super League:
Lausanne Sport vs Lugano
Luzern vs Young Boys Bern
FC Sion vs Vaduz
Turkish Super Lig:
Goztepe vs Kasimpasa
Trabzonspor vs Fenerbahce
Enjoy your free betting tips!