Title-chasing Borussia Dortmund will aim to cut leaders Bayern Munich’s lead to three points when they welcome surprise outfit Freiburg today Friday (January 14) in the German Bundesliga (BL). Then tomorrow, title favourites Manchester City and Chelsea square off in a mega showdown in the English Premier League.

Event # 1 – GER, Dortmund vs Freiburg

Borussia Dortmund will be aiming to build on an exciting 3-2 away win over Frankfurt when they host Freiburg.

Given the recent form of title favourites Bayern Munich, the title race door could be slightly open for Dortmund to slip through, which means that today’s clash at home presents a huge opportunity to put pressure on the champions. Bayern’s shock defeat at home to Monchengladbach last weekend has given Dortmund a glimmer of hope to win the title but they need to keep picking up wins if they are to chip away at Bayern’s lead. Before the Christmas break, Dortmund had won once in four matches, but they looked refreshed and in much better form since returning to the pitch last weekend for the first time since December. They managed to come from 0-2 down to beat the in-form Frankfurt away from home which would have sky-rocketed their confidence ahead of this vital clash.

Freiburg have been one of the fascinating stories in the Bundesliga so far this season. They are currently sitting in the unfamiliar and unlikely position of fourth and could jump to third with a win over Dortmund. Freiburg had won two of their last three matches before the Christmas break, but they dropped points on their return to action last weekend, as they could only manage a draw against Bielefeld. Based on Freiburg’s form, victory for Dortmund will not be a walk in the park as Freiburg have won their last two head-to-head encounters 2-1, but Freiburg haven’t won away at Dortmund in the past ten years.

KEY STATS

Dortmund – have lost only one of their 21 Bundesliga home games against SC Freiburg (W17 D3): 0-2 in October 2001. Since that defeat, Dortmund have won 12 and drawn once in 13 BL home matches against Freiburg, making it their longest active unbeaten home streak against a current BL team.

Freiburg – with 18 goals conceded, SC Freiburg have the joint-best defensive record in the Bundesliga this season (alongside Bayern). Away from home, SC Freiburg have recently kept two clean sheets in a row, the first time they have done so since November 2013, when they managed a club record three consecutive away shutouts (2001 also 3).

Both sides – recently, SC Freiburg have won two Bundesliga matches in a row against Borussia Dortmund (both at home) for the first time – in the previous 41 Bundesliga matches between these two teams, Freiburg had only come away victorious three times (D11 L27).

The betting tip. Dortmund win.

Event # 2 EPL – Manchester City vs Chelsea

Manchester City and Chelsea square off in a mega showdown, which will have huge ramifications on the title race.

Victory for Manchester City over Chelsea at home would put them 13 points ahead of the Blues, and essentially kill any chances of Chelsea winning the title this season. A win for Chelsea, however, cuts the gap to seven points, and suddenly the door would be opened for both Chelsea and Liverpool. All things considered; this will be a massive title-defining match at the Etihad Stadium that neither side can afford to lose. Manchester City’s last gasp win over the unfortunate Arsenal two weeks ago stretched their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 11 matches. An impressive feat in itself, but that’s merely something of the norm for City in recent years as in the 2017/18 season they set the record with 18 consecutive wins, and in 2018/19 City again finished the season off with 14 wins on the trot. This 11-match winning run for City includes wins away to Manchester United and Arsenal, as well as tricky home wins against West Ham and Leicester.

Chelsea’s fans would have enjoyed their team’s form in the last few weeks as the Blues dispatch London rivals Tottenham in the first leg of their EFL League Cup, before effortlessly brushing aside lower-league side Chesterfield 5-1 in FA Cup action at the weekend. With that said, if we take a closer look at Chelsea’s league form alone, we will see that Chelsea have won just one of their last five matches, and although they’re unbeaten during this dismal run, they’ve picked up just seven points from a possible 15. However, it’s not all gloom for the Blues, as they have a good recent away record in the Premier League, winning six of their last eight matches on their travels. League form might be poor at the moment for Chelsea, but they will travel to City knowing that they have beaten the Champions in three of their last four meetings – Chelsea’s three-game winning run was ending by a 1-0 loss by City at home earlier this season.

KEY STATS

Manchester City – following their 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, Man City are looking to secure the Premier League double over Chelsea for the fourth time, previously doing so in 2009-10, 2015-16 and 2017-18. City have won their last 11 Premier League games, their fifth such run of 11+ consecutive victories in the competition. Three of their previous four such runs have been ended in a home match – 1-2 vs West Ham in September 2015, 2-2 vs Spurs in August 2019 and 0-2 vs Man Utd in March 2021.

Chelsea – won this exact fixture 2-1 last season, last winning consecutive away league games against Man City during a run of four between 2005 and 2008. Chelsea have lost just one of their last 15 Premier League games (W8 D6), going down 3-2 at West Ham in December. However, the Blues have picked up just one win from their last five league games (D4), throwing away a lead in two of those four draws.

Both sides – after beating Liverpool 4-0 in July 2020, and Chelsea 1-0 earlier this season, Manchester City are looking to become the fourth English club to win three consecutive meetings with reigning European champions in all competitions, after Notts County (1982), Tottenham Hotspur (1983-84) and Everton (1984-85).

The betting tip. Draw.

JUSTBET ODDS – Borussia Dortmund vs Freiburg ­ — Friday, January 14, 2022

Prediction Odds on Prediction Odds Calculation

DORTMUND TO WIN $1.52 which means a $1000 bet would pay $1,520

FREIBURG TO WIN $5.75 which means a $1000 bet would pay $5,750

MATCH TO DRAW $4.75 which means a $1000 bet would pay $4,750

Odds on the Home Team (Dortmund) winning the game 3-1 at full time $11.00 which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $11,000

Odds on the Away Team (Freiburg) winning the game 1-2 at full time $21.00 which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $21,000

Odds on the game drawing 2-2 at full time $15.00 which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $15,000.

JUSTBET ODDS – Manchester City vs Chelsea — Saturday, January 15, 2022

Prediction Odds on Prediction Odds Calculation

MANCHESTER CITY TO WIN $1.66 which means a $1000 bet would pay $1,660

CHELSEA TO WIN $4.75 which means a $1000 bet would pay $4,750

MATCH TO DRAW $4.25 which means a $1000 bet would pay $4,250

Odds on the Home Team (City) winning the game 2-0 at full time $8.00 which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $8,000

Odds on the Away Team (Chelsea) winning the game 0-1 at full time $14.00 which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $14,000

Odds on the game drawing 0-0 at full time $13.00 which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $13,000.