Cologne's record at the Allianz Arena suggests they can hold Bayern at bay tonight
Bayern Munich are unsurprisingly long odds-on to beat Cologne at the Allianz Arena this evening, but those thinking of lumping on at such a prohibitive price – the home win is no bigger than 1.18 at the time of writing – should note that Stale Solbakken’s men have not been beaten in all four previous visits to the stadium since its gates were opened in 2005.
Though generally formidable on home soil, the Bavarians have already been beaten twice in their own backyard this season, and coach Jupp Heynckes will know that his defence will need to be at the top of their game if they’re to contain the visitors’ in-form striker Lucas Podolski who has scored 14 goals in 15 appearances this term – a return that even Mario Gomez would not sniff at.
I’m not saying that Cologne will beat Die Roten tonight but the current odds certainly underestimate the away side (the draw is available at 10.0 with Pinnacle, while for punters willing to take a risk and predict three points for the RheinEnergieStadion outfit, Victor Chandler go 23.0 about an away win. Quite generous odds for a team that won their latest fixture 4-0, I’d say.
Both managers have the benefit of near enough full-strength squads. Heynckes has all bar Breno and Bastian Schweinsteiger to choose from – the easy list is currently shorter than it’s been all season – and, getting back to Gomez, he continued his fine start to the season by scoring both of Bayern’s goals during their 2-1 victory at Stuttgart in their latest fixture. The German international is currently the Bundesliga’s leading scorer, with 15 goals on the board.
The Bavarians’ win against Stuttgart created a bit of breathing space at the top of the table – they’re three points in advance of last season’s champions Borussia Dortmund at present – and with the latter side strong favourites to beat Freiburg in the next match tomorrow, nothing but maximum points will do tonight. However, the 10.0 on offer with Pinnacle about a draw is, frankly, too good to miss, as tenth-placed Cologne will go all out to preserve their favourable record at the Allianz Arena, but probably won’t be quite adventurous enough to go for the victory.