Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayern Munich Odds & Prediction – Bundesliga Round 1
- Munich heads out on the road as it kicks off the new season in Germany at 2:30 pm ET on Friday
- Bayern seeking 10th straight title but has had a poor pre-season build-up
- See all the odds & best bets for Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayern Munich in Bundesliga Round 1
Bayern Munich begins its quest to win a 10th successive German Bundesliga title when it visits Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday.
The game is the curtain-raiser to the new season with the rest of the fixture program beginning on Saturday.
Both teams have new coaches in command.
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayern Munich Odds
| Matchup | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.Monchengladbach vs Bayern Munich | BOR +1.5 (-195) | MUN -1.5. (+115) | BOR +450 | MUN -185 | DRAW +380 | Ov 3.5 (-125) | Un 3.5 (+100) |
Odds as of August 12 at DraftKings
Julian Nagelsmann, 34, has taken charge at Bayern after leading Red Bull Leipzig to second place last season.
Meanwhile, Adi Huttler has taken up the job at Monchengladbach after three impressive years as coach at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bayern is Huge Title Favorite
Munich is the massive favorite with DraftKings to win the championship again at -550.
As a measure of just how dominant the team is expected to be, the second favorite Borussia Dortmund is priced at +650.
So it is no surprise that the oddsmakers fancy Bayern to make a winning start to the campaign at Monchengladbach – with a victory for the visitors priced at -185.
Meanwhile, Monchengladbach is rated at +450 with the draw at +380.
In comparison, the spread offer of +115 or Munich to win by two goals or more at -1.5 looks the best prospect here. The kick-off is at 2:30 pm ET.
However, Monchengladbach secured a 2-0 win over Munich in a pre-season friendly only two weeks ago.
It has been an undoubtedly difficult pre-season build-up for new Bayern coach Nagelsmann.
🎙️ @J__Nagelsmann on the opponents: "Gladbach have a strong and ambitious squad. They are a tough opponent to open the season against. Every team has that extra motivation when facing Bayern. Everyone wants to prevent us from winning our tenth straight title." #BMGFCB pic.twitter.com/fRN2lzuyz8
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) August 12, 2021
As well as the home defeat by Monchengladbach, his side has additionally suffered two more defeats.
It was beaten 3-2 at FC Koln. Then, after subsequently drawing 2-2 with Ajax, the team also lost 3-0 at home against Napoli.
The line-up has, however, been missing a whole host of star names at times following their participation at Euro 2020.
For example, star striker Robert Lewandowski – who hit 41 goals for Bayern last season – did not appear until the defeat against Napoli on July 31.
There was, furthermore, a youthful and makeshift defense in all four games.
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayern Munich Statistics
| 2 | Wins | 3 |
| 0 | Draws | 1 |
| 3 | Losses | 1 |
| 12 | Goals | 16 |
| 13 | Goals Against | 6 |
| 10 | Yellow Cards | 7 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 1 |
| 1 | Clean Sheets | 2 |
*Statistics from last five Bundesliga games of last season.
Bayern lost two of its star players in the summer.
Full-back David Alaba headed to Real Madrid while center-back Jerome Boateng came to the end of his contract.
Two replacements have been recruited – with French international defender Dayot Upamecano being signed from Nagelsmann’s former club Leipzig for $72 million.
Meanwhile, defender Omar Richards has been brought in from English Championship outfit Reading.
Flick a Hard Act to Follow at Munich
Coach Nagelsmann has a hard act to follow after predecessor Flick won every trophy available before taking charge of the German national side this summer in place of Joachim Low.
However, the line-up looks impressive with Thomas Muller again partnering Lewandowski and the German internationals Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich leading the charge in midfield.
Upamecano will have to quickly form a solid defensive partnership with Lucas Hernandez.
Unusually, Bayern conceded 44 Bundesliga goals last term – its worst record in three decades.
🔝5️⃣ @FCBayernEN youngsters looking to breakthrough in the #Bundesliga this season 👇
Tanguy Nianzou 🇫🇷
Josip Stanisic 🇩🇪
Christopher Scott 🇩🇪
Torben Rhein 🇩🇪
Armindo Sieb 🇩🇪https://t.co/TfHcZRtPKZ— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) August 12, 2021
It was not a big problem, however. The team scored 99 Bundesliga goals.
For Monchengladbach, the memory of a 6-0 thrashing by Bayern will be fresh and painful because it took place only three months ago towards the end of the Bundesliga campaign.
New coach Adi Huttler has been tasked with securing European qualification for Monchengladbach.
Previously, Monchengladbach won 3-2 at home against Bayern in the Bundesliga last January.
New coach Huttler has been tasked with securing European qualification for Monchengladbach.
It missed out this season following a disappointing eighth-place finish last spring.
Certainly, it has been an encouraging pre-season build-up for the new boss.
He has replaced Marco Rose after his departure for Borussia Dortmund,
After a 2-2 draw with Viktoria Koln and a 3-1 defeat by Paderborn, Monchengladbach subsequently racked up three straight wins.
🎙️ #Hütter: "The stadium will be half full, which we're looking forward to. The atmosphere will be important and will hopefully help boost the team. We're hoping to ignite a spark, together with the fans." #DieFohlen #BMGFCB pic.twitter.com/BuLtCFqRSf
— Gladbach (@borussia_en) August 12, 2021
Metz of France was beaten 1-0 before the win against Munich.
Then, thirdly, there was a 2-1 defeat of the Netherlands’ side Groningen.
Opening Cup Win for Monchengladbach
Additionally, Monchengladbach opened its competitive campaign with a 1-0 defeat of German third-tier team Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal Cup.
The only signing has been that of the $7 million left-back Luca Netz from Hertha Berlin.
There have, however, been no major departures. So the squad looks strong enough to bounce back from last season’s poor finish.
That through to the next round feeling 🥳🎉#DFBPokal #FCKBMG pic.twitter.com/Wa5XxtscAu
— The DFB-Pokal (@DFBPokal_EN) August 9, 2021
Against Bayern, Monchengladbach will have to improve on a home record which saw it earn only 28 points from a possible 51 last season.
In comparison, Munich collected no fewer than 35 points on the road.
And, in conclusion, they look likely to win another three points on Friday, most likely by two goals or more.
Pick: Bayern Munich +115 (Spread -1.5)
John Dillon is a leading member of the UK's sporting media, having spent three decades as a national newspaper soccer and sports writer, broadcaster and author. He has covered five World Cups, six European Championships and was Chief Sports Writer at the Daily Express for 14 years.
