Last week, Armin Veh's Stuttgart side raced into a three goal lead before half-time and eventually ran out 3-1 winners at Gladbach.

Leverkusen, meanwhile, were finding it hard going against Dortmund, conceding three themselves and losing 2-3 in a match featuring clubs with new coaches.

Neither side covered themselves in glory last season; Stuttgart, the then reigning champions, finished in 6th whilst Leverkusen, in contention for a Champions League qualification spot with two months remaining, suddenly sank and lost 7 of their final 10 games.

A further defeat, at home to Dortmund, at the start of this season, may continue that malaise and it's hard to see a below-par Leverkusen putting the home side under pressure with such weakness in midfield and defensively.

Last year, Leverkusen won just once away against a team in the top half; in the corresponding fixture last year, Stuttgart won 1-0. A similar result should be expected, though perhaps with a more emphatic scoreline.

Match Betting Previews 23-25 August 2008 >>> Premiership: Blackburn v Hull - Liverpool v Middlesbrough - Newcastle v Bolton - Stoke v Aston Villa - Spurs v Sunderland - WBA v Everton - Fulham v Arsenal - Wigan v Chelsea - Man City v West Ham - Portsmouth v Man Utd Bundesliga: Dortmund v Bayern - Werder v Schalke - Stuttgart v Leverkusen Ligue 1: Le Havre v Marseille - Lyon v Grenoble - Bordeaux v Nantes Champions League: Arsenal v Twente - Liverpool v Standard - Atletico v Schalke

Mario Gomez, much maligned after a terrible Euro 2008, got back on the scoresheet last week and his form of 19 goals in 25 Bundesliga games was remarkable and he causes a lot of problems in this league.

Stuttgart above $1.80 does look decent value and the $2.00 at Eurobet does look a little overpriced. As such, a 6pt stake on the win might be taken with a half-pointer long-shot on a correct score. If it fails, it would still return $1.85.

Stuttgart had a bizarre trick of winning three games 4-1 and losing four times 4-1. Last week's 3-1 win shows they are still showing the same attacking and defensive instincts. A 4-1 is available at Eurobet at $41.00.

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Bet: Stuttgart to win Odds: $2.00 Stake: 6pts Bookies: Eurobet Bet: Correct score 4-1 Stuttgart Odds: $41.00 Stake: 0.5pts Bookies: Eurobet

Match Betting Previews 23-25 August 2008 >>> Premiership: Blackburn v Hull - Liverpool v Middlesbrough - Newcastle v Bolton - Stoke v Aston Villa - Spurs v Sunderland - WBA v Everton - Fulham v Arsenal - Wigan v Chelsea - Man City v West Ham - Portsmouth v Man Utd Bundesliga: Dortmund v Bayern - Werder v Schalke - Stuttgart v Leverkusen Ligue 1: Le Havre v Marseille - Lyon v Grenoble - Bordeaux v Nantes Champions League: Arsenal v Twente - Liverpool v Standard - Atletico v Schalke