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Bundesliga Matchday 3 Odds & Picks: Hoffenheim’s Kramaric Red-Hot, Augsburg Flying High

Paul Attfield

by Paul Attfield in Soccer News

Updated Oct 1, 2020 · 11:32 AM PDT

Andrej Kramaric
Hoffenheim are underdogs on the road to Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend but forward Andrej Kramaric is off to a strong start this season. Photo by Hollandse-Hoogte/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
  • Hoffenheim’s Kramaric is the Bundesliga’s leading scorer with five goals, while also having nine goals in his last three games and is +125 to score anytime this weekend
  • FC Augsburg are joint top of the league and have an appealing encounter with Wolfsburg in Matchday 3
  • Read on for odds and a trio of best bets for the third weekend of the new Bundesliga season

It’s hard to say that normal service has yet resumed with Hoffenheim and Augsburg joint-top of the Bundesliga after two weekends, with defending champions Bayern Munich down in seventh. But then that’s exactly where the treble winners were last November before they picked up 58 points from a possible 60 in their last 20 games to claim an eighth straight title.

Still, while the champs hardly represent value at -670 to win against Hertha Berlin this weekend, especially following their 4-1 loss to Hoffenheim last weekend, there are good bets to be had from Matchday 3 of Germany’s top professional league.

Bundesliga Matchday 3 Odds

Team Moneyline Odds
1. FC Union Berlin +120
Mainz 05 +220
Draw +245
Team Moneyline Odds
Borussia Dortmund -335
SC Freiburg +805
Draw +475
Team Moneyline Odds
FC Koln +300
Borussia Moenchengladbach -121
Draw +290
Team Moneyline Odds
Eintracht Frankfurt +140
TSG Hoffenheim +188
Draw +245
Team Moneyline Odds
VfB Stuttgart +290
Bayer Leverkusen -117
Draw +290
Team Moneyline Odds
Werder Bremen +110
Arminia Bielefeld +240
Draw +250
Team Moneyline Odds
RB Leipzig -400
FC Schalke 04 +1050
Draw +500
Team Moneyline Odds
VfL Wolfsburg -105
FC Augsburg +290
Draw +250
Team Moneyline Odds
Bayern Munich -670
Hertha BSC +1600
Draw +700

Odds taken Oct. 1 at DraftKings

Back Kramaric to Find Net Against Eintracht

While Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski gets much of the striking plaudits in the Bundesliga – and rightfully so – there is no hotter striker in Germany’s top division than TSG Hoffenheim forward Andrej Kramaric.

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The Croatian striker helped fire Hoffenheim to the top of the league last Sunday with two goals in a 4-1 win over defending champions Bayern Munich. Those two goals have also pushed Kramaric to the top of the scoring charts, with five goals in two games this season.

And the 29-year-old didn’t just discover his shooting boots this term. In fact, he has nine goals in his last three Bundesliga games, owing to the four he put past Borussia Dortmund in the final game of last season.

So while Hoffenheim may be +188 underdogs away to Eintracht, who have conceded just two goals this season, Kramaric’s odds of +125 to score in the game represent very good value indeed.

PICK: Kramaric to score (+125)

Can Augsburg Keep Rolling?

With two wins from two following last weekend’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, FC Augsburg finds themselves in the unfamiliar position of being joint top of the league, placed second by virtue of goal difference.

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Having finished 15th in each of the last two seasons, survival in the German top-flight will be the club’s eventual aim for this season, but that doesn’t mean that can’t indulge in some early-season dreaming.

The club’s third match of the new campaign, away to Wolfsburg, affords them such an opportunity. After finishing seventh last season, the Wolves have struggled to score so far this year, with just one goal in two draws to date. And the continued absence of important players, particularly in Wolfsburg’s backline, will have Augsburg confident of continuing their momentum.

PICK: Augsburg (+290)

Union Berlin to Maintain Upward Trajectory

With a 3-1 home defeat against FC Augsburg to kick off the new campaign, Union Berlin didn’t exactly have a dream start to their second season in the Bundesliga. But the club shook that off the next week with a 1-1 draw away at Borussia Moenchengladbach to show that last season’s 11th-place finish was no fluke.

And with a home encounter against 17th-place Mainz, what better way to continue their move up the table? Mainz has scored just two goals while conceding seven this year, in consecutive losses to RB Leipzig and to Stuttgart, and seem ripe for the picking.

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Union Berlin have also proven to be a tough side to beat on their own patch, suffering just four league defeats there since last November, so playing at home should also give them added strength.

PICK: Union Berlin (+120)

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