Football betting tips: Bundesliga
2pts Michael Olise 2+ shots on target at evens (BetVictor)
1pt Olise 3+ shots on target at 16/5 (BetVictor)
So it begins. Slightly later than some of the other major leagues in Europe, the Bundesliga has waited until the final weekend of August to return given the presence of an extended World Cup.
Plenty has changed and yet the expectation largely remains the same. Bayern Munich embark on what should be yet another successful season by hosting Stuttgart in Friday's first televised clash.
The visitors are expected to be battling in the 'best of the rest' category. I'm not hoping they are given my predictions in the outright preview but this is a side who finished fourth last season and will be competing in the Champions League again this time around.
These sides met four times last season with three of those ending in comfortable Bayern victories - they netted 12 to Stuttgart's two in response. The only game which was somewhat close was the Super Cup, that being just the 2-1 win for the Bavarian giants.
For viewers in the UK this season, the Friday game will again be free-to-air. The BBC are carrying the rights with games on the iPlayer (not an issue given how pretty much every TV has the app anyway), while the Bundesliga were also broadcasting on their YouTube channel.
That's not the only bit of good news. There's little to suggest Germany's top-flight will be anything other than the goal-laden division we've come to expect this time around.
Bayern Munich vs Stuttgart
- Kick-off: Friday, 19:30 GMT
- TV: BBC iPlayer, Bundesliga YouTube
- Live odds, form and stats
To the Allianz Arena then and the home of the champions. As you'd expect, teams did not get much here last season but the one thing you perhaps didn't are the teams who did.
Augsburg (9th) beat them. Mainz (10th) and Heidenheim (17th - relegated) secured a point each. They're near enough perfect but they do have the odd off-day.
I wouldn't expect that to come on Friday night though.
PSV's Ismael Saibari and Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt are the two eye-catching arrivals for Bayern this summer with Raphaël Guerreiro and Leon Goretzka previously regular figures to depart on the expiration of their contracts. This is still a unit filled with talent throughout.
On Brown, I'd expect him to occupy the #10 spot again (as was the case in the Super Cup win over Dortmund) rather than being at left-back, so the 5/6 available with Coral and Ladbrokes for a shot on target is well worth a look if you can get on. It won't feature here though given how they are stand-out prices and most others float around the 1/2 mark.
Instead, taking MICHAEL OLISE OVER 1.5 SHOTS ON TARGET is available at evens with a few others going 5/6 or above, while the 3s or so on OVER 2.5 is also worth consideration.
His performance in the Super Cup shows he has returned from the World Cup with little issues for the early parts of the campaign. Olise returned four shots on target with a goal from five shots against Dortmund.
Only Harry Kane (119) took more shots than Olise (101) among Bayern players in the Bundesliga last season, with the winger seeing pretty much half of those (50) on target. In fact, it was only Kane who had more shots on target than the France star in Germany's top-flight.
As you'd expect, taking Kane to have at least two efforts on target in this game is around 2/5, with three or more just about breaking even money.
Usually, I'd look towards the opposition corners in Bayern home games with some having their line set at 2.5. Stuttgart are on 3.5 though, making me pivot in a different direction for the season opener.
The hosts should pick up where they left off, with Olise a driving force behind that.
Odds correct at 12:10 BST (27/08/26)
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