Bundesliga Betting: Champions Dortmund to kick off season in style

German international Marco Reus should excel with Borussia Dortmund
The 50th season of the Bundesliga gets underway this weekend, and Kevin Hatchard expects reigning champions Borussia Dortmund to start with a comfortable win.
Borussia Dortmund vs Werder Bremen, Fri 19:30, Live on ESPN
Match Odds: Dortmund 1.331/3, Werder 11.010/1, the draw 6.05/1
Borussia Dortmund begin their quest for a third consecutive Bundesliga title on Friday evening, and they'll be pretty confident of kicking off their campaign with a win against a Werder Bremen side still reeling from an early German Cup exit. While Thomas Schaaf's Bremen were tumbling out 4-2 to 3.Liga side Preussen Munster, Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund were cruising to a 3-0 win at Oberneuland.
That game saw BVB's new recruit Marco Reus score his first competitive goal for the club, and he should prove to be an excellent signing. He contributed 21 goals and ten assists to Borussia Monchengladbach's cause last season, and I expect him to thrive alongside attacking talents such as playmaker Mario Gotze and striker Robert Lewandowski.
BVB's home record last season was outstanding - they won 14 of their 17 league games at the Westfalen, and only lost once. Klopp's men rattled in 44 goals, with just 12 conceded.
Bremen are undergoing a period of rebuilding under long-serving coach Schaaf. Impish winger Marko Marin has joined Chelsea, top scorer Claudio Pizarro has begun a second spell at Bayern Munich, German international keeper Tim Wiese has joined Hoffenheim and defensive stalwart Naldo defected to Wolfsburg.
Werder's signings are promising, but the Preussen Munster defeat shows they will take time to settle. Former Hamburg and Juventus winger Eljero Elia is talented but maddeningly inconsistent, striker Nils Petersen and winger Kevin De Bruyne have points to prove while on loan, while right-back Theodor Gebre Selassie was outstanding for the Czech Republic at EURO 2012.
Werder failed to win any of their last nine Bundesliga games last season, and I can't see them pulling off an upset here. However, the 3-3 draw the two teams played out in pre-season suggests there will be goals in this game. Given Werder's defensive struggles, and the fact BVB averaged 2.6 goals per game at home last season, I think backing Over 3.5 Goals at 2.47/5 is a decent bet. In addition, if you want to back a Dortmund win but are put off by the stingy 1.331/3 on offer, you might wish to consider backing BVB with a 1.5 goal deficit on the Asian Handicap at 1.855/6.
Recommended Bet: Back Over 3.5 Goals at 2.47/5
Back Dortmund -1.5 goals on the Asian Handicap at 1.855/6
Stuttgart vs Wolfsburg, Sat 19:45 BST
Match Odds: Stuttgart 2.0421/20, Wolfsburg 3.9n/a, the draw 3.7511/4
As I stated in my Bundesliga season preview, I like the look of both these sides. Stuttgart had the third-best record over the second half of last season, inspired by the January signing of Bosnian striker Vedad Ibisevic. The former Hoffenheim hitman scored eight goals and produced six assists in just 15 games for the Swabians last term, and he's hit the ground running this season. Ibisevic scored twice in Thursday's 2-0 home win over Dynamo Moscow in the Europa League, and he scored one goal and set up two more in the 5-0 German Cup win at SV Falkensee-Finkenkrug. At odds of around 20.019/1, I would seriously consider Ibisevic as a contender to be the league's top scorer.
Stuttgart are looking great going forward, have kept two clean sheets, and so far they have retained star players like Martin Harnik and Serdar Tasci. VfB currently look more like the finished article than Wolfsburg, who have great potential but still have to integrate a lot of new signings. Felix Magath must find a way to get the best out of new strikers Ivica Olic and Bas Dost, and needs to unlock the potential of Czech winger Vaclav Pilar, who dazzled at EURO 2012.
Pre-season defeats to Bayern Munich and Manchester City showed that Wolfsburg are still finding their feet, although they comfortably despatched FC Schonberg 95 5-0 in the German Cup, with Olic netting a hat-trick.
Recommended Bet: Both teams have great potential, but Stuttgart look stronger at present. Back Stuttgart to win at 2.0421/20.
Freiburg vs Mainz, Sat 14:30 BST
Match Odds: Freiburg 2.6413/8, Mainz 2.942/1, the draw 3.45n/a
Freiburg comfortably avoided the drop last term thanks to an inspired second half of the season under Christian Streich. Freiburg didn't lose at home after Streich replaced Marcus Sorg at Christmas, winning four and drawing four. Those games included a draw with Bayern Munich and a win over Schalke. The Black Forest outfit won 2-1 at Victoria Hamburg in the German Cup.
Mainz had an uninspiring pre-season which included a defeat to SV Sandhausen, and I can't help feeling that the exodus of top players over the past 18 months will make life hard for coach Thomas Tuchel.
Recommended Bet: Freiburg have made their Dreisamstadion a fortress, so back them to win at 2.6413/8.
You can follow Kevin on Twitter @kevinhatchard