Hungary provide test as Löw looks to trim Germany squad by two
Published:Hungary v Germany, kick-off Saturday 7.00pm
Germany manager Joachim Löw only needs to trim two players from his World Cup 2010 squad following a series of injuries, and will use his side’s match in Hungary as a gauge for who the unlucky duo should be.
Löw will also try out Philipp Lahm as captain to replace the injured Michael Ballack.
With such tight competition for places expect a performance from Germany and a bet on the away side to win at 1/2 looks assured.
It’s likely Hungary will give Germany a tougher work out than the amateur team Löw’s side deemed it necessary to this week beat 24-0 though.
In Hungary’s last match they drew 1-1 at home to Russia, but they’re playing at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium this time, a venue where Erwin Koeman’s side have lost three out of their last four.
A 3-0 victory over Malta is largely overshadowed by losses to Romania, Sweden and Portugal. But all of these defeats were by slender one-goal margins, and a similar result tonight looks to be on the cards with Germany winning 1-0 priced at 5/1 and 2-1 at 7/1.
Germany are in unusually capricious form though, having won away to Russia, drawn at home to Finland and Ivory Coast, lost to Argentina and defeated Malta in their last five outings.
With such a recent record it might be worth backing Draw/Away in the half-time/full-time market; it’s a tempting 7/2.
Think Hungary can spring a surprise? They’re 5/1 to beat the 2006 semi-finalists. See the full Hungary v Germany market.
