Matchday 18 had everything, which makes the Bundesliga so great. 36 goals, penalty saves, upsets, a manager let go & more.
Upsets, drama and plenty of goals…
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) January 24, 2021
This #BLMatchday had it all! 😍 pic.twitter.com/Vcu4FnOCMX
LABBADIA LET GO
Bruno Labbadia has been let go by Hertha Berlin after a disappointing first half of the season. The club has a net spend of around $120 million since the Summer of 2019. The Board isn’t willing to accept 17 points from 18 games & 2 wins from their last 11 games. The club’s chairman Carsten Schmidt released the following statement:
“Week in, week out, Bruno and his coaching staff have invested a lot of hard work into the team’s development, and we would like to thank him greatly for that. Ultimately, however, the return of 17 points from 18 games leaves us in a very precarious situation. After much deliberation, we feel that a change of head coach can give the team fresh impetus. We will clarify his successor as head coach in the coming days.”
Looking at the results, luck hasn’t been on Labbadia’s side. In Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Werder Bremen, they were awarded a penalty at 1-0 down. Jirí Pavlenka saved Matheus Cunha’s effort & 8 minutes later, Ömer Toprak put Bremen 2-0 up. Same thing against TSG Hoffenheim on Matchday 17. Oliver Baumann saved Krzysztof Piatek’s penalty in the 12th minute & they went on to lose that game 3-0. Football’s a game of fine margins & if these 2 spot kicks went in, Labbadia might still be in a job.
Werder Bremen went in hard on Hertha Berlin tonight 👊 #BSCSVW Highlights 🎥⭐ pic.twitter.com/ax0KuF3ECf
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) January 23, 2021
I feel sorry for Labbadia after Sky Germany completely mugged him off in the post-match interview showing him an article saying he’s going to be sacked. Absolutely brutal.
Because losing 4-1 at home wasn’t bad enough for Bruno Labbadia, Sky decide to show him a Bild article saying he’s going to be sacked during his post match interview. (Video: @hahoheV)
— Louis Ostrowski (@ostrl) January 23, 2021
pic.twitter.com/uffFITx6rA
BAYERN PULLING AWAY
The 3 teams closest to Bayern Munich going into Matchday 18 all lost. RB Leipzig fell to relegation favorites Mainz 05, Bayer Leverkusen came up short against VfL Wolfsburg & Borussia Dortmund were humbled by Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Hansi Flick’s side went into Sunday’s game with FC Schalke 04 knowing a victory would give them a 7 point lead & they won comfortably 4-0. There was hope that Leipzig would be the side to challenge them this season, but that is fading away. Bayern is in the driving seat to make it 9 Bundesliga titles in a row.
Bayern continue to lead the way, while Hoffenheim make the leap back to mid-table 📸#BLMatchday pic.twitter.com/jxsp3vSlGH
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) January 24, 2021
JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW UPDATE
It’s been an extremely quiet transfer window with 10 clubs yet to bring anyone new in. The financial impact of Covid is hitting German football hard & there’s only be a handful of notable transfers so far:
- Eintracht Frankfurt – Former striker Luka Jović has returned on loan from Real Madrid
- Bayer Leverkusen – Timothy Fosu-Mensah has been signed from Manchester United in a $1.8 million deal
- Borussia Mönchengladbach – 18-year-old American RB Joe Scally has joined from New York City FC. Highly-rated 19-year-old CM Kouadio Koné will join from Toulouse at the end of the season
- RB Leipzig – Signed the exciting Dominik Szoboszlai from Red Bull Salzburg at the start of the window. He’s recovering from an abductor injury & should make his debut soon
- FC Schalke 04 – Former players Klaas-Jan Huntelaar & Sead Kolasinac have returned to help save the club from relegation
- Mainz 05 – Danny Da Costa & Dominik Kohr have both joined on loan from Frankfurt
- Hoffenheim – Sebastian Hoeneß has signed his former player Angelo Stiller from Bayern Munich II
Let’s take a look at the 2020-21 Bundesliga Matchday 19 Betting Lines.
BUNDESLIGA MATCHDAY 19 BETTING LINES
ODDS & ENDS
- I like Frankfurt at -148. Luka Jović has 3 goals in 76 minutes & is getting fitter by the day.
- Gladbach is in a good moment & great value at +125. FC Union Berlin is having a little wobble with 2 defeats in a row.
- Bayern will go all out against Hoffenheim to revenge their 4-1 defeat from earlier in the season. You can get Die Roten at +130 with a -2.5 Goal handicap.
- Back Werder Bremen at -117. They are improving & will beat Schalke to do the double over them this season.
WHERE TO BET THE BUNDESLIGA IN THE US
In the US, you can legally bet on soccer in New Jersey, Indiana, and Pennsylvania.
For New Jersey, we recommend DraftKings Sportsbook NJ or FanDuel Sportsbook.
