Bayern Munich vs Koln
I’ll be honest. I think Bayern Munich are the best side not only in the Bundesliga, but in Europe as well.
They may have relinquished the Champions League last season. But I still feel if they’d had Robert Lewandowski in their ranks for their quarter-final tie with PSG, they would have prevailed in the rematch of the 2020 final along with the semi-finals and final that duly followed.
Alas, we’ll never know.
Since then, of course, they have said farewell to David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, and coach Hansi Flick. But wherever there is Bayern Munich, there are Bundesliga 2021 highlights and I expect that to be the case again this weekend as they pay tribute to one of their own.
They will pay homage to one of football’s true greats and arguably the greatest goalscorer the game has ever produced.
Talking Points
The legendary Bayern Munich and West Germany striker Gerd Müller is as worthy of a legend status as it gets even before considering the string of records he set in a hitherto unrivalled career.
A scorer of great goals especially in great games, he scored 566 goals in 607 games for Bayern Munich and still nobody has scored more in the Bundesliga than his 365.
The tributes that have flowed in since his passing and will continue to flow in this weekend will ensure Bayern Munich go out and do him justice.
For me, that means Koln will merely be uninvited guests at a Bavarian-dominated occasion on and off the pitch.
And how fitting it would be for Lewandowski to continue his scoring spree after he picked up where he left off in their opening draw at Borussia Monchengladbach before a midweek double against Borussia Dortmund to clinch the German Super Cup.
Koln had a dramatic opening game of their own as Florian Kainz scored twice in the space of three second-half minutes to help them come from behind to cancel out an early Stevan Jovetic goal and beat Hertha 3-1 at the RheinEnergieStadion.
That was an ideal start to a campaign in which Jonas Hector and Koln are looking to avoid relegation drama after only surviving via the playoffs last term.
Remember, the club was in the bottom two in mid-April when veteran tactician Friedhelm Funkel came in and steered them to three wins to climb out of the automatic drop zone on the final day before they emerged successfully through the playoffs to retain their Bundesliga status.
They should do so again but, in what will be an emotional occasion in Munich, don’t expect them to cause any surprises this weekend.
History
A friendly aside, you have to go back sometime for when Koln last defeated Bayern Munich in a competitive fixture.
February 2011, in fact, was when they triumphed 3-2 in the Bundesliga.
That was even more impressive because they had to overturn a 2-0 half-time deficit after Mario Gomez and Hamit Altintop had put Bayern Munich in the ascendancy.
Christian Clemens reduced the arrears before two goals in 11 minutes from Milivoje Novakovic won the day for Koln.
Since then, the sides have met 13 times with one draw and 12 Bayern Munich victories.
That included a league double last season when a Thomas Muller penalty and a Serge Gnabry goal earned them a 2-1 success. Dominick Drexler pulled one back late on for the home side.
The return fixture in Munich saw Gnabry net a late double to put a very one-sided scoreline on the board.
Robert Lewandowski and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting grabbed the others in a 5-1 win in the corresponding fixture en route to a ninth consecutive title.
Betting Tip
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Bayern Munich vs Koln | Bayern Munich First Half Asian Handicap -1.25 @ 2.29 |
| August 22, 11:30 (GMT+8) |
The final top-flight fixture of the weekend in Germany and probably the most one-sided as far as the SBOTOP Bundesliga 2021 betting odds are concerned.
In fact, if you didn’t know any history or background, you would probably take one look and wonder why Koln were even bothering travelling to the Allianz Arena.
The visitors are priced 1X2 @ a massive @ 15.00 and with Asian Handicap odds are on offer +2.25 @ 2.08.
Contrast that with the hosts who can be backed 1X2 @ 1.14 and Asian Handicap -2.75 @ 2.33 and the expectation is clear.
Even the draw is on offer @ 8.25.
A repeat of last month’s friendly 3-2 win for Cologne with the correct score will earn you a pay day of @ 225.00!
My advice is steer clear of that since lightning rarely strikes twice.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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