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Bayern Munich's chances of landing their third consecutive league title this term are questionable to say the very least, and at 4/6, they're way too short for further domestic success.

First off, there's the future of successful coach Felix Magath to worry about, because he's currently considering a management offer from the Puerto Rica Football Association.

Whether Magath bites or not doesn't really matter - it's the fact he's tempted which should be a worry for the Bayern board, because it shows the boss could be off elsewhere long before his contract comes to an end.

Missing managers aren't the only potential worry for Bavarian backers.

After all, Bayern already have a smaller squad than many of their challengers this season, and the club readily accepts it has to manage the purse strings carefully this year, which helps explain why Munich didn't chase Ruud Van Nistelrooy more tenaciously.

If all this consternation hasn't already put you off Bayern at odds-on, then there's the issue of Michael Ballack to ponder for a while.

Who knows how swiftly Magath's crew will recover from his defection to Chelsea?

The World Cup demonstrated how important Ballack can be to any side - so just how ready are Bayern for the new season without an adequate replacement for such an influential individual?

Well, Werder Bremen have just provided us with a big clue.

Although Bremen have been in the wars recently, losing Johan Micoud to Bordeaux over the summer, and going down in a number of pre-season friendly matches, they bounced back to beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the German League Cup.

That's a real hint for punters, because Bremen also have plenty of room for improvement too - note they're still waiting on the return of Torsten Frings, Miroslav Klose and Tim Borowski after their World Cup exertions.

Werder have certainly been a side on the upgrade in the last two years.

They've gone from third to second spot over the past couple of seasons in the Bundesliga, campaigns which saw them finish as top scorers away from home in 2004/05, and top net busters at home last term, where they averaged more than three goals a game on their own patch.

If Bremen can consolidate this sort of progress into the new season, they'll be a real handful, and title rivals Bayern Munich could feel the heat.

After all, Munich have been slowing down while Bremen have been improving - Bayern won the title by fourteen points in 2004/05, but headed Werder by just five last time out in 2005/06.

To be frank, it really looks like the title will be a straight fight between these two protagonists this season.

Hamburg, available at 9/1, have improved over the past two years, moving up from eighth spot to third, but they blew it when well-placed last March, and nothing suggests Hamburg will keep up with the pace again.

In short, take Werder Bremen to laud it over Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga this season.

£25 in free bets with totalbet.com



By Bettingzone.co.uk
Used with permission.

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