Bundesliga: Stats and trends from the season so far

26Oct 2012

German football expert Ross Dunbar assesses Bayern Munich's excellent start to the season as well as some of the Bundesliga's key stats...

FC Bayern Munich are running away with the German Bundesliga this season, which is why their title odds are as short as 1.09. They've opened up a five-point gap over second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt and a 12-point advantage over last season's champions Borussia Dortmund. The Bavarians have an incredible 100% record - only the fourth side ever to win their first seven games - and boast 26 goals scored, with just two conceded.

Despite Bayern's dominance, the league is still very competitive in the middle of the table where teams are hoping to challenge for European spots. After eight games, just two points separates 11th from fourth and only four points between fourth and 15th.

Eintracht Frankfurt scored an impressive 19 with 13 of them coming at the Commerzbank Arena. That is not the strongest goals/home goals ratio in the top-half - 10 of SC Freiburg's 13 goals have come on their home patch.

On their travels, Bayern have been imperious, with a 100% record and 12 goals in four matches. Only 95 goals have been scored by away teams in the Bundesliga, compared to 114 home goals - a third of that figure contributed by Bayern, Frankfurt and Schalke.

Sides that have struggled away this season are those that favour an expansive style of play. Werder Bremen have managed just one win and six goals from four away matches, whilst Borussia Monchengladbach have yet to win on the road, conceding 10 in the process.

The lowest scorers in the league are VfL Wolfsburg (2) who sit rock-bottom of the Bundesliga after eight matches. Even higher up in the table though, Fortuna Dusseldorf have netted just six goals - yet sit a win away from fourth-place - and FSV Mainz have scored only nine goals this season.

As well as being by far the best side in the division, Jupp Heynckes' men are the best disciplined with just eight yellow cards and no red cards. At the other end of the spectrum, Greuther Fürth - making their Bundesliga debut this season - have collected 21 yellow cards which is the highest in the league.

Bundesliga clubs are very well-organised and disciplined. There have been just six straight red cards in the league, this season, and a further six from two yellow cards. Sejad Salihovic of TSG Hoffenheim is a notable offender for Markus Babbel's side, collecting a straight red and two yellow cards.

Croatian hit-man Mario Mandzukic is the top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with seven goals in eight games, this season - five of his goals have opened the scoring in matches involving the league-leaders.

His FC Bayern team-mate, Thomas Müller, has scored six goals and created another five in his seven league appearances this season. Müller's sheer industry and work- rate sees him become more involved later in matches, with 50% of his league goals coming in the second-half of matches.

In recent matches, Bayer Leverkusen's German forward Stefan Kießling has netted four goals, from his five this season, in his last three matches. Hamburg have bounced back from three straight defeats at the start of the season, to clinch three wins in their last five games, conceding, on average, a goal a match.

After a fairly positive start, 1.FC Nuremburg have slumped horrendously, losing four of their last five games and drawing the other. Dieter Hecking's side have scored just twice in those five - conceding a further 11.

FC Bayern are the dominant force but the Bundesliga is an extremely competitive league. Expect Schalke to stick close by the Bavarians, Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart to make in-roads for the European positions. Don't expect Wolfsburg or Nuremburg to start winning soon.

Recommended Season Bet:

There's not a huge amount of liquidity in the market yet, but if you can get around 5.0 on Thomas Müller to be Top Goalscorer, then dive in.

(Source: Betfair)