£10 To £500 Ladder Challenge Bet 3

Yep, Germany again. This time to the 2nd tier as ‘the Dinosaur’ return to action against a lowly Braunschweig side.

Hamburg were given the nickname of the Dinosaur as a result of being the only side never to be relegated from the Bundesliga; that was until 17/18 when they fell to the 2nd tier.

Since then it’s been regular heartbreak for them, as they head off most seasons as one of the big favourites.

The clubs brilliant infrastructure, illustrious history and big attendances means they attract the best players in the division.

This season, they’re again in the hunt for promotion. They’re 2nd in the table and have won 11 games so far – their best output at this stage since relegation.

Their metrics are impressive, especially in front of their home crowd where they’re notoriously strong.

They average a huge xG of 2.27 at home and an xGA of just 0.97.

They’ve bolstered their options with some new signings too. Fans are most excited about Spanish centre back Francisco Montero who arrives on loan from Besiktas.

Braunschweig sit 14th, 16 points behind Hamburg and just a solitary point above relegation. They’ve won just 4 of their 17 matches.

Their metrics fall short in comparison to the hosts. They average 1.15 xG and a hefty 1.82 xGA when playing on the road.

They picked up a few results before the break which may throw people off at a glance, but they didn’t deserve most of the points they got.

In the 5 away games they avoided defeat, they registered a considerably lower xG than their opponent in all bar one match.

Another huge element of this bet is that Braunschweig are missing a lot of first team players.

Anthony Ujah, Bryan Henning and Immanuel Pherai are all serious doubts. Filip Benkovic, Luc Ihorst and Phillip Strompf are all absent.

Those names will mean nothing to most of you – Benkovic is a starting centre half when fit, previously at Leicester and Celtic.

Bryan Henning is a crucial cog in their midfield, he was involved in 13 goals from midfield last season.

Immanuel Pherai has scored 4 goals and laid 3 assists this season. He’s a very creative youngster previously at Dortmund.

Anthony Ujah is the clubs top scorer this season with 5 goals. Ihorst would be a back up option for him and is also injured.

I found that info on proper German sites, they know better than anyone else and they talked up Hamburg’s chances here.

I’m confident the home side can deliver us a win and get us up to the next step.