Soccer Betting – Bayern Battle Dortmund for DFB Pokal

Bayern Munich (-1) vs Borussia Dortmund, Draw (+229)

The German Cup (aka the DFB Pokal) has slipped through Borussia Dortmund’s hands each of the last two seasons; the Black and Yellow will try to avoid a third straight loss in the final when they take on dominant Bayern Munich this Saturday at Olympiastadion in Berlin (2:00 PM Eastern).

Dortmund lost the 2013-14 finale to Bayern Munich and then suffered the same fate against Wolfsburg last season. Unsurprisingly, given their competition, they’re heavy underdogs to snap the losing streak.

Bayern crushed the competition in the Bundesliga, romping to a ten-point first-place finish. Their fourth straight league title means that a win on Saturday will give them another German double. The treble is out of the picture, however, as they were ousted from the Champions League in the semis by Atletico Madrid.

Dortmund finished as runners-up in the Bundesliga and were eliminated in the semis of the Europa League, so Saturday’s game is their last chance for a trophy this year.

Saturday’s game will be the last for Bayern under manager Pep Guardiola, who’s leaving to take the Manchester City job. Unfortunately for Pep, there’s not much opportunity for redemption. If Bayern win the Pokal, no one will give him much plaudits given the talent on his roster. If Bayern lose, his entire final season will be considered a massive disappointment.

The trends at least favor a positive outcome for Guardiola. Bayern haven’t lost to Dortmund in five straight. However, a final like this one is played on different terms. I expect Borussia to be a little more aggressive than usual. They might not get the win, but I see Borussia (+1) as good value.

Pick: Borussia Dortmund (+1).

(Photo Credit: André Zehetbauer (Flickr: FC Bayern München – Deutscher Meister 2010) CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)