Football betting tips: Czech First League, 2. Bundesliga, Austrian Bundesliga
1pt Over 10.5 corners in Dukla Prague vs MFK Karvina (15:00) at evens (bet365)
1pt Over 10.5 corners in Rapid Wien vs Wolfsberger (16:00) at 6/5 (William Hill)
1pt Over 10.5 corners in Viktoria Plzen vs Slovan Liberec (18:00) at 21/20 (General)
1pt Over 10.5 corners in Hertha Berlin vs Kaiserslautern (19:30) at evens (bet365)
There's a different approach to this week's column.
Why? I'll slightly tweak the conversation between David Brent and Karen Roper from the Office to explain:
"Errrr, so I did some big-priced goalscorers in the bigger leagues and..."
"Toooooo boring. Tell me about yourself."
"Ok, well I've recently got into studying the corner stats of various leagues..."
"Czech First Division? Let's put that down."
We're well into the second-half of the latest version of football's near never-ending cycle and it was all just feeling a bit repetitive, wasn't it?
And I was watching Tottenham the other week - the Premier League's top corner takers - for the third time in the space of around seven days, the random thought of "hmm, I wonder which leagues see the most corners" popped into my head.
So here we are, putting it to the test this weekend for a bit of variety and interest. But it's not all unfamiliar territory, because while the Czech top tier represents Karen in this scenario, the 2. Bundesliga plays Stuart Foot - we'll do one of you as well.
Dukla Prague vs MFK Karvina
- Kick-off time: 15:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 17/10 | Draw 9/4 | Away 5/4
One league where the corner count is rampant is the Czech First Division - the Chance Liga if you're struggling to find it on your score apps.
A remarkable 62% of games this season have seen double figures in this area with 13 of the 16 teams involved seeing their match corner count average sitting at 10.0 or above.
Dukla Prague and MFK Karvina are two of those sides, with the hosts sitting fifth for crosses attempted in the league so far.
I'll side with the even money on OVER 10.5 CORNERS then.
Již v sobotu jsme zpátky na Julisce! 🏠🔥
— FK Dukla Praha (@FKDuklaPraha) February 4, 2025
Ve 21. kole přivítáme na domácím hřišti soupeře z Karviné ⚔️👊
Máš už svůj lístek? 🎟️👇https://t.co/0mw5yQXJhd#fkdukla #jsmezpatky pic.twitter.com/zhWjrr99V1
Dukla have taken at least eight corners in two of their last four home league games, with 6+ coming in three of the previous six.
Karvina are poor on the road. Each of their previous four away contests have seen their opponents taking at least eight. That's a huge amount.
But the hosts seeing the opponents scoring first in six of their ten in front of their own supporters adds the potential game state element to the contest too.
In a meeting of two towards the bottom of the table, they'll be a desperation for points from both sides.
Rapid Wien vs Wolfsberger
- Kick-off time: 16:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 4/6 | Draw 13/5 | Away 16/5
Back into Austria where, as previously discussed, the corner count isn't typically as high as the other divisions.
But Saturday presents another contest between two sides who look to use their width. Rapid Wien meet Wolfsberger in a meeting of third vs fourth.
Rapid sit second for crosses attempted in the Austrian Bundesliga, with Wolfsberger third. Combined, they average 41.9 crosses per game. That leads to CORNERS.
Seid ihr bereit für das erste Heimspiel 2025? 🧐
— SK Rapid (@skrapid) February 4, 2025
WIR sind es - ALLE ins Stadion! 🔥
🎫 https://t.co/7TC5liJCGy#skrapid #SCR2025 pic.twitter.com/fsqjbrkUBZ
It's partly why I'm taking the 23/20 on OVER 10.5 in this contest.
A significant 86% of Wolfsberger's away league games this season have seen 11+ corners taken. There were 15 in their 3-0 success at league leaders Sturm Graz with the same figure in the 3-1 loss at now-second place Austria Wien.
Rapid's opening day victory over Graz delivered 11 corners with nine in the derby defeat to Austria Wien.
It's two sides who operate with styles which are beneficial for corners and, as other games against the top sides have demonstrated for both, it often leads to the ball being deflected behind.
Viktoria Plzen vs Slovan Liberec
- Kick-off time: 18:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 4/9 | Draw 3/1 | Away 9/2
We're back in beautiful Czechia where the latest OVER 10.5 CORNERS bet comes in Viktoria Plzen's meeting with Slovan Liberec.
This rounds off Saturday's action in the top flight there and it's a contest between a Plzen side sat second but ten points adrift of champion-elect Slavia Prague.
Only the two major Prague clubs attempt more crosses than Plzen this season and that's partly why they've seen the corner count hit double figures in 65% of their league outings.
In home games, it's 60% and the same has been true in 45% of Slovan Liberec's games across all venues.
Slovan's trip to Sparta Prague saw both teams taking four corners each with Slavia taking six. We could only require a small handful for the visitors with Plzen expected to do the majority of it.
Four of Plzen's five home games against sides currently sat alongside Slovan Liberec in the bottom half have seen at least 11 corners taken.
Hertha Berlin vs Kaiserslautern
- Kick-off time: 19:30 GMT, Saturday
- Home 10/11 | Draw 5/2 | Away 12/5
I couldn't do a trip around Europe without a stop in Germany, could I?
Kaiserslautern will be looking to continue their promotion push against a Hertha Berlin outfit who are, once again, faced with a campaign with little to play for already.
Germany's second tier is another typically high corner taking league with a large majority of teams looking towards their width when attacking.
There's even money available on OVER 10.5 CORNERS here which is another bet to consider.
Hertha have seen the match corners count hit double figures in 70% of their games this season, with the figure sitting at 65% for Kaiserslautern.
These two sides combine for an average of 37.5 crosses attempted per game, which is by no means the highest possible combination in the league either.
Hertha's recent home contest with Hamburg - a 3-2 win for the visitors - saw a total of 12 corners while there were nine in a 1-0 defeat to Köln. The visit from Düsseldorf delivered ten.
In an intriguing-looking game, I'll side with a high corner count.
Sturm Graz vs Austria Wien
1pt Over 10.5 corners in Sturm Graz vs Austria Wien (19:30) at 6/4 (bet365)
- Kick-off time: 19:30 GMT, Friday
- Home 10/11 | Draw 12/5 | Away 5/2
Oh, so the Austrian Bundesliga was one of those divisions then?
Erm, no...actually. So, sorry about confusing things to kick us off.
BUT, what we have here is the top two welcoming back the league following the winter break. Sturm Graz lead Austria Wien by just three points but a significant enough goal difference means they'll stay top regardless - unless they receive a pasting.
So avoiding channelling their inner Brighton or Cardiff will do but of course they'll want maximum returns. You'd fancy it given their home showings up until this point.
It's a meeting of two teams who love to use their width and cross the ball into the box. Combined, they're averaging a significant 43.3 crosses attempted per match.
That inevitably leads to some being deflected behind at OVER 10.5 CORNERS is an interesting bet at 6/4.
Graz's home meeting with Wolfsberger (currently fourth) delivered a huge total of 15 corners taken with the visitors edging that count 7-8. The visit of Rapid Wien saw them taking seven.
The game state will play a part too given the significance of the game. Graz are yet to draw 0-0 at home, the same applies to the Violets' eight games on the road - they've scored first in five of those.
Odds correct at 1525 GMT (06/02/25) unless otherwise stated
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