Against All Odds: Bremen and Hannover to entertain

1Feb 2013

Werder Bremen take on Hannover in the Bundesliga this evening and with both teams' matches averaging nearly four goals per game, Paul Robinson thinks under 3.5 has to be opposed at odds-on.

Werder Bremen have dropped to 12th place in the table after winning just one of their last seven fixtures. They slumped to four defeats in that period and perhaps even more worryingly, they conceded 19 goals in the process.

Thomas Schaaf won't panic too much though as he's seen it all since he took over as boss in 1999 and while he won't be happy that they've been thrashed in two of their previous three home games, he will take solace in the fact that they were against the top two sides in the division. Prior to that spell, Bremen, had won three in a row at the Weserstadion, netting a total of eight goals.

Of their last half dozen matches in the Bundesliga, five have gone over 4.5 goals, with three of their last six at home going north of 3.5. The River Islanders' games have averaged 3.53 goals so far this term, which has only been bettered by one team.

That team is tonight's opponents, Hannover 96, and they are also in need of a victory as five defeats in eight have seen them slide to 10th place. A win this evening could see them go as high as sixth, which would put them in the Europa League places, a competition they've excelled in this season.

Mirko Slomka's men have shipped a total of 37 goals so far this year, the same number as Bremen, which is the worst record in the division aside from rock bottom, Greuther Furth. Four of their last six on the road have had four goals or more and they haven't kept a clean sheet since a 4-0 win at Wolfsburg back in September.

This match has all the ingredients to be high scoring so with under 3.5 goals trading at around the 1.66 mark, I have to make it my lay of the day.

This match can be seen on ESPN or Betfair Live Video from 19:30