Monchengladbach to beat the rest?

Betting without Bayern Munich provides the best value when it comes to the Bundesliga title race.

While it is expected to be a battle between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig to become the main threat to break the Bavarian side's dominance, there is a case to be made for Borussia Monchengladbach.

For clarification, Bayern lead the Bundesliga by a four-point margin and just two points separates Dortmund in second and Monchengladbach in fourth.

1. Bayern Munich - 55pts
2. Borussia Dortmund - 51pts
3. RB Leipzig - 50pts
4. Borussia Monchengladbach - 49pts

Essentially, we're betting on the team to finish second in this market as it's expected that Bayern will kick on and secure yet another Bundesliga crown.

All three sides have a fairly well-balanced final nine fixtures although Dortmund have to play both Bayern and Leipzig, while Leipzig only have Dortmund left to play and Monchengladbach come up against Bayern.

We're playing to the value a little here because backing Monchengladbach to be the best of the rest at odds of 25/1 is too good to turn down given current standings and future fixtures.

We wrote Monchengladbach's title odds off in our 'Inside the Title Race' piece and it's reflected in their 100/1 price but there is every possibility that they come out of these nine fixtures in a better position than both Dortmund and Leipzig.

A Bayern victory when they meet Dortmund at the end of May could effectively bring the title race to an end. Their four-point cushion over the chasing pack could become seven after that game, potentially even more depending on the previous two results.

Then there is that game between the teams in second and third on the penultimate weekend of the season. One, or both, of the teams will drop points in that fixture.

The benefit of the Bundesliga format and their winter break is that we have some idea how teams fare after an extended period not playing.

For Monchengladbach, they have had little issue when it comes to this. They've picked up points in six of their eight games since mid-January and lost just one of their opening seven fixtures of the season.

Last season, under the same manager, they won their first three games following the winter break and also only lost one of their opening eight fixtures.

There is, of course, the strength of Leipzig and Dortmund and the way they have fared themselves following the winter break, but this young and exciting Monchengladbach side can push them all the way.

The remaining games fail to significantly benefit one side over another as far as I'm concerned. It's worth gambling on Die Fohlen at a generous price.

A battle of the Scandinavians for top scorer