Pandora Hughes
FC Koln are the pick in the race to finish in the Bundesliga top four while Bayern Munich are already celebrating a tenth consecutive title.
Who do Bettors Favor?
The battle for the Bundesliga is over, but the Top Four markets at the best online sportsbooks sites show that there is plenty to play for with Bayer Leverkusen available at -1000 to secure fourth spot, ahead of Freiburg at +600 and Union Berlin at +1200.
| Bundesliga Top Four |  |
| Leipzig | -2000 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | -1000 |
| Freiburg | +600 |
| Union Berlin | +1200 |
| FC Koln | +4000 |
Betting on the Bundesliga Winner
With four games to go and a lead of nine points over their nearest challenger going into the weekend, Bayern Munich looked on course to record an incredible tenth successive Bundesliga win. The only potential stumbling block was their crucial home game against Dortmund.
Marco Rose’s side were the closest challengers and the only team with even a theoretical chance of catching the leaders, and they have been a solid side on the road this season.
But that all counted for nothing at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. Serge Gnabry gave the home side the lead on 15 minutes, likely Golden Boot winner Robert Lewandowski added another on 34 minutes and although a penalty from Emre Can early in the second half made things interesting, Jamal Musiala’s goal seven minutes from time sealed the win for Bayern and the title too.
Bayern are also likely to be priced at short odds to make it eleven in a row next season, but it will be wise to keep an eye on the transfer news throughout the summer as prices in the 2022-23 winners market will fluctuate and this could be a good time to get some big odds on the other challengers.
Betting on the Bundesliga Top Four
Although the title race is over, the Bundesliga Top Four and Relegation battles still have plenty of potential and there was a significant twist in the race for the Top Four at the weekend.
Red Bull Leipzig were in a strong position to finish third and had a three-point lead over the fifth-placed side, Freiburg going into the weekend, but two goals in the last four minutes from Union Berlin handed Leipzig a surprise defeat, enabling Bayer Leverkusen to move above them in the table.
Domenico Tedesco’s team now face a much more nerve-wracking run-in as they are only two points clear of Freiburg and are still in the Europa League and the German Cup, although the former tournament does offer another route to the Champions League. That said, their remaining fixtures look straightforward, and they are still the shortest-priced of all the Top Four contenders.
Bayer Leverkusen are now up to third and have a strong goal difference advantage over most of their pursuers. Still, their win at the weekend came against already-relegated Greuther Further and they face tougher challengers in the last three games, including fixtures against Freiburg and Hoffenheim, while Freiburg themselves have a difficult conclusion to their Bundesliga campaign.
If you’re searching for value in this market, FC Koln may yet be the best option. Although they are currently six points off fourth spot, all three of their remaining games come against sides in the bottom six. They’re also in good form, having won their last three Bundesliga games, scoring three goals in each, so at big odds they could yet make a late charge into the Top Four.
Bundesliga Relegation Betting
The intense relegation battle at the other end of the table is drawing to a close, although Greuther Furth are already relegated. It is important to remember when betting in this market, that finishing third from bottom in the Bundesliga still gives a team a chance to avoid relegation via the relegation play-offs.
Arminia Bielefeld lost again at the weekend and are second from bottom, with a dismal record of one point from their last eight matches, and still have to play RB Leipzig, so appear to be destined for a bottom-three finish. That means the final relegation place is between Hertha Berlin and Stuttgart.
Stuttgart had been putting up a strong fight to avoid the drop and had shown some defensive improvements in recent games, earning three draws in six matches, but that hasn’t been enough to pull them to safety at a point in the season when wins are required.
Perhaps the final blow came at the weekend when they lost 2-0 to relegation rivals Hertha in a crucial game that means the Berlin side are now six points clear of the bottom three. In fact, with only a two-point lead over Arminia Bielefeld, they could yet be overtaken and slip into the automatic relegation places. For that reason, at the current odds, they still look like a good bet to be relegated.
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