Germany vs Bosnia-Herzegovina Prediction: Rudiger to rise up in Freiburg

Germany head into their Uefa Nations League fixture with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday (19:45, Viaplay International YouTube) knowing that a win will clinch top spot in Group A3 and send them to next year's finals. Their visitors to the Europa-Park Stadion in Freiburg, meanwhile, need to triumph themselves to stand any realistic chance of taking relegation to the last day.

Below is my Germany vs Bosnia-Herzegovina prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav was the hero the last time these sides met on October 11 as his first-half brace put Germany in a commanding position before Bosnia's main man Edin Dzeko pulled one back in the second half. However, the 28-year-old will be unable to repeat that feat on Saturday as he is sidelined with an injury.

There is a further headache in defence for head coach Julian Nagelsmann, who is without Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck due to suspension.

Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz joined in training on Thursday, though, after illness caused him to miss Tuesday and Wednesday sessions.

Football Odds

Bosnia-Herzegovina will be without Zurich centre-back Nikola Katic who, like Schlotterbeck, serves a one-game ban for an accumulation of yellow cards.

Head coach Sergej Barbarez must also contend with the absence of Atalanta's German-born defender Sead Kolasinac, who has pulled out of the squad with an injury.

Bosnia's all-time top scorer, Fenerbahce striker Dzeko, will lead the line for the Dragons.

Germany vs Bosnia-Herzegovina Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Germany vs Bosnia-Herzegovina page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Germany are huge favourites to win their final home match of the campaign, with odds of 1/11 giving the hosts an implied probability of 91.7%, while Bosnia-Herzegovina are 25/1, or a 3.8% chance, to pull off a famous victory in Freiburg.

A draw can be backed at 9/1, both teams to score at 11/8, and over 2.5 total goals at 1/3.

Arsenal's Kai Havertz (9/10) heads the anytime goalscorer market, followed by Borussia Monchengladbach centre-forward Tim Kleindienst (19/20) and Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry (11/10), while Dzeko (5/1) is shortest priced for the visitors.

To Win to Nil - Germany @ 4/6

A 2-1 scoreline suggests Germany only edged past Bosnia in Zenica last month, but it should be noted that Germany scored their first goal in the 30th minute through Undav, who doubled their lead six minutes later to claim a brace. The hosts didn't get on the scoresheet until the 70th minute through Dzeko and only managed two further shots, in the 73rd and 87th minute, both of which failed to trouble Alexander Nubel in the German goal.

Nagelsmann's side are yet to concede at home in this Nations League campaign, keeping a clean sheet in September's 5-0 Dusseldorf thrashing of Hungary before shutting out the Netherlands in a 1-0 victory in Munich last month.

Bosnia, to their credit, scored twice in their first UNL away outing against the Dutch in Amsterdam, although they did lose 5-2. They blanked in their next game, however, grinding out a goalless draw in Budapest against Hungary, who stopped them from scoring at home in last month's reverse fixture in Zenica, which means Bosnia have failed to score in half (two) of their group games.

It would take something miraculous for Bosnia to finish in the top two now, and even a relegation play-off place appears unlikely, as they would have to win their last two matches and hope other results go their way.

I think the Dragons are resigned to their fate and avoiding defeat by a big scoreline is probably the best they can ask for.

Germany, meanwhile, lnow a win would clinch first place and automatic entry to next year's Nations League finals.

So, with so much riding on this game for Germany, and Bosnia knowing their chances of avoiding relegation to Group B are minimal, I fully expect the hosts to come out on top this weekend.

I think they will take this extremely seriously, especially as it will mean that they can rotate in their final match game away to Hungary next week and try new things.

A win to nil is 4/6 with Betfred, and while they are not huge odds, I think it's a pretty solid bet to kick things off with in Freiburg.

Anytime Goalscorer - Antonio Rudiger (GER) @ 15/2

After a relatively safe first tip, I'm going much bigger for my second selection, backing Real Madrid and Germany defender Antonio Rudiger to score.

Rudiger's last strike for Germany was over a year ago, in a 2-2 draw with Mexico in Philadelphia, USA on October 17, 2023.

Three goals in 76 senior caps isn't particularly prolific, but the 31-year-old already has a couple to his name for Real Madrid this season, finding the net in Uefa Champions League wins over two of his former clubs, Stuttgart (3-1) and Borussia Dortmund (5-2).

Rudiger failed to get a shot off in Zenica on October 11 but had a header saved by the Netherlands' Bart Verbruggen three days later. That opportunity arrived from a corner kick situation, and with Germany expected to dominate Saturday's match, there could be plenty of chances for Rudiger to get on the end of a delivery and break his barren run in front of goal for the national side.

Offers

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