Dortmund have a fantastic away record. The last time they lost on the road was against Hamburger on the 15th August. In the subsequent eight matches they have won four and drawn four but they are on a current winning streak of three, having accounted for Koln, Wolfsberg and Hoffenheim. Their two previous away games reulted in draws against Bremen, who were going well at the time, and Leverkusen who are of course unbeaten so far this season.
At puntinplay we think that after a shaky start Dortmund are genuine title challengers. In six of Dortmund's nine away games they have been leading at half time. Therefore the 3.75 offered by Bet365 makes strong statistical appeal for the forty five minute players. Whilst Dortmund have scored 14 road goals they have only kept a clean sheet once and that was away to Monchengladbach. Four of Dortmund's last six matches have produced over 2.5 goals.
Stuttgart have made dramatic improvement under Christian Gross. He was an early Christmas present for the Stuttgart fans who had anticipated a tilt at the title but faced a battle with relegation. Gross has won three and drawn two of his five games in charge.
Dortmund will be without Sven Bender who has been an ever present in the Dortmund unbeaten run stretching back over 12 games. Dortmund are in fourth place, Stuttgart are thirteenth. At best we think this is an “each of two game” so the fact that Stuttgart are 2 in most books and Dortmund are 3.5 with Betfair means that from a value point of view we have to go with the Borussians. Even Gross thinks Dortmund are value
"Dortmund are the clear favourites in my eyes,'' he said. "They want to qualify for Europe while we are still concentrating on avoiding relegation.''
Gross will welcome Jens Lehmann back into his goal this weekend after his three-game suspension came to an end following last weekend's win over Frieburg. He replaces Sven Ulreich.
Klopp, the Black Yellows coach, has to do without Sven Bender, who has played in the last 11 unbeaten matches, due to a knee problem. Hajnal is a likely to replace him in the centre of midfield.
Dortmund may not win but in terms of value they are one of the bets so far of 2010.
