Monday’s clash between Hannover 96 and Kaiserslautern pits the Bundesliga 2’s strongest offense (31 goals scored) against the joint 2nd strongest defense (15 goals conceded). However, Kaiserslautern find themselves stuck in the lower half of the table with the joint worst scoring record in the league (11 goals in 17 matches), whereas, high-flying hosts Hannover 96 stand in 2nd place and just two points behind rivals Eintracht Braunschweig at the top of the table.
Hannover 96 head into this as the bookies’ favourites at 8/11, and we feel there’s decent value to be had in backing the hosts here for the following reasons: Hannover have the 2nd best home record (W6 D1 L1) in the Bundesliga 2, winning five of their last six at the HDI Arena, and are currently unbeaten in seven consecutive league matches. Contrastingly, Kaiserslautern have one of the Bundesliga 2’s worst away records (W1 D3 L4). Notably, Kaiserslautern’s strong defensive record stems from their performances at home, not on the road – Kaiserslautern have kept clean sheets in seven of their nine matches at home, but just twice in their eight away matches (25%).
Kaiserslautern have struggled all season for goals, so the absense of 2nd top scorer Jacques Zoua (3 goals), who is representing Cameroon at the African Cup of Nations, doesn’t do the visitors any favours. Especially when considering the goal scoring form of winger Martin Harnik as Hannover 96’s top goalscorer (8 goals in 14 appearances). He’s almost scored more goals than Kaiserslautern have all season and with four goals over Hannover’s last four games at the HDI Arena, seems decent value for an anytime scorer bet here at 13/8.
Regarding a correct score bet, Kaiserslautern have failed to score in half of their away matches and are missing their 2nd top scorer. Hannover 96 have kept clean sheets in four of their last six matches at home (66%) and haven’t any defensive injury concerns, so it seems reasonable to assume that another one could be on the cards here against the Bundesliga’s weakest offense. Following from Hannover 96’s approximate two goal per match average at home, a 2-0 win at 13/2 seems a decent shout here.
