Bundesliga Betting: Swashbuckling Storks can catch the eye | OneFootball

German Bundesliga

Steffen Baumgart has struggled to make a positive impact at his former club Union Berlin

We're moving towards the home stretch in the Bundesliga season, and TV commentator Kevin Hatchard has a trio of betting tips.

Relegation battle can strike sparks

Union Berlin v Holstein KielSunday 02 March, 14:30Live on Sky Sports

Sometimes making a coaching change is a positive thing, but it's hard to escape the notion that Union Berlin's decision to part company with Bo Svensson before the winter break was a hasty and ill-conceived move. Since the Dane's departure, the capital club have relentlessly slipped down the table.

Former Union striker Steffen Baumgart was brought in, and the former Köln boss has struggled to make an impact. The Eisern have won just two of their eight league games since changing coach, and last weekend they completely collapsed in a 6-0 hammering at Borussia Dortmund.

The biggest surprise has been the decline in Union's defensive standards. In their first few games under Svensson, the back three of Diogo Leite, Kevin Vogt and Danilho Doekhi were rock-solid, and goalkeeper Fredrik Ronnow was in the form of his life.

However, Baumgart unsettled the unit by switching to a back four, then panicked and went back to a three. Union have leaked 16 goals in eight league games under Baumgart.

Holstein Kiel have the worst defence in the division, having conceded a staggering 59 goals in 23 games. Statistically, keeper Timon Weiner has been the worst in the league, and the lack of Bundesliga experience in defensive positions has been noticeable.

That said, Marcel Rapp's team haven't yet been cut adrift, and they do pack a punch in attack. The Storks have scored in 18 of their 23 league games, and I think they'll score in Köpenick too. The price of for Both Teams To Score seems pretty generous, so I'm happy to snap it up.

Sesko streak can continue

RB Leipzig v MainzSaturday 01 March, 14:30

RB Leipzig picked up one of their most important victories of the season on Wednesday, as they edged out Wolfsburg 1-0 in the DFB Pokal quarter-finals. Had Die Roten Bullen crashed out of that tournament, the pressure on coach Marco Rose might have become unbearable, as he has failed to deliver either a title push or a decent Champions League game.

Leipzig's goalscorer was Benjamin Sesko, who thumped home a penalty to net the only goal of the game. The young Slovenian has scored in ten of his last 15 competitive appearances, and his record from the spot is impressive. On that basis I'm surprised to see Sesko trading at 13/10 to score at any time on the Sportsbook.

Mainz are absolutely flying, and are incredibly in the mix for Champions League qualification. However, key defender Dominik Kohr is suspended after picking up his tenth league caution of the campaign, and Bo Henriksen's team have lost four of their last six away games in the top division. Leipzig won 2-0 in the reverse fixture, and if they repeat that kind of result, I think Sesko will score.

Kleindienst to score on his big day

Heidenheim v Borussia MönchengladbachSaturday 01 March, 14:30

It's been a rough campaign for Heidenheim, and the chief reason for that is that they lost three of their key players in the summer. Set-piece king Niklas Beste went to Benfica (he's already back in Germany with Freiburg), Eren Dinkci went to Freiburg, and top scorer Tim Kleindienst defected to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Kleindienst has been a roaring success. The newly-minted German international has netted 14 goals in the league, including eight in his last 12 appearances. He's helped the Foals turn around their historically poor away form, and they have won three of their last five top-flight away games, as many road wins as they managed in the previous 21 attempts.

Heidenheim have leaked 47 goals in 23 league games, they are in the relegation playoff spot, and they have lost 16 of their 23 Bundesliga matches. It's a huge comedown from their first top-flight campaign (which was only last term), when they qualified for Europe.

Kleindienst scored twice in the reverse fixture, and I don't believe he'll show any mercy here either. Backing him to score in any game at 7/5 is an attractive prospect, but I'm especially excited about doing it against one of the worst teams in the division.

Recommended bets