Has Bochum’s amazing form continued?

The Bundesliga is fast approaching the winter break, which is rather short this season. Two matches are still to be played and for all teams it is a matter of celebrating Christmas with a positive feeling. The Bielefeld side in particular could do with a sense of achievement, as the gap between them and the rescue zone has now grown to seven points.

The East Westphalians are certainly expecting a lot in their home match against the strong promoted team from Bochum, although it has to be said that Arminia is the only Bundesliga team that has not yet won a single home match this season. As a result, it would be quite risky to make a prediction on the end of this negative series between Bielefeld and Bochum.

In addition to the statistically proven home weakness of Kramer’s team, the strength of form of the visitors from the Ruhr region also makes for puzzled eyes when looking at the Bielefeld vs Bochum odds. The bookmakers see the hosts as razor-thin favourites, despite the factors mentioned above.

Bielefeld – Statistics & current form

If we take a look at the odds for the potential relegation candidates in the Bundesliga before the match between Bielefeld and Bochum, it quickly becomes clear that Arminia, along with bottom-placed Greuther Fürth, are the hottest contenders for the drop into the second division. This assessment is not particularly surprising, especially as the East Westphalians currently occupy penultimate place in the standings, six points behind 16th place and already seven points behind the non-relegation places.

The main dilemma is certainly the disastrous win rate, as coach Frank Kramer’s team has only managed to win one of the 15 games so far this season. On the other hand, there have been seven draws and seven defeats. Only the aforementioned Spielvereinigung has suffered more defeats.

Bielefeld offensively and too harmless at home

The lack of home strength could also become an X-factor in the relegation battle, even though “only” three of the eight matches at home were lost. However, DSC are still waiting for a win in front of their home crowd this season. Only six goals have been scored at home; the total is ten. Both figures are the lowest in comparison with the other first division teams.

Because the pressure on Tuesday evening to score or win against a supposedly equal opponent is enormous, but the Arminen have big problems to perform in a match, we are far from giving a tip on the Kramer eleven between Bielefeld and Bochum. After two points from the last four games and a bitter 0:2 defeat at Hertha at the weekend, the next setback in the race to stay in the relegation zone is looming.

Predicted line-up of Bielefeld:
Ortega Moreno – Brunner, Pieper, Nilsson, Laursen – Prietl, F. Kunze – Wimmer, Schöpf, Okugawa – Klos

Bochum – Statistics & current form

VfL Bochum are the talk of the town when it comes to the question of which club has surprised the most in the first half of the season. In fact, hardly anyone would have thought anything of the promoted team before the start of the season. The reality, however, is different: After just 15 matchdays, coach Thomas Reis’ team has 20 points on its account, twice as many as its upcoming opponents. Interestingly, only two teams in the entire history of the Bundesliga have been relegated with such a tally.

Even more impressive is their current form, because in the last eight Bundesliga games, the White-Blue team has only conceded two defeats (Leverkusen, Gladbach). Instead, the team, which at its core still relies on the players from the year of promotion, celebrated five victories in the aforementioned period as well as a more than respectable 1-1 draw at the weekend in the small Pott derby against Borussia Dortmund.

Bochum want to continue their run

The confidence is virtually at boiling point after seven points from the last three games and VfL supporters can also frame the outstanding tenth place in the interim rankings. If the prediction of an away win pays off on Tuesday evening in the clash between Bielefeld and Bochum, the newcomer could even jump into the top half of the table.

To be fair, however, six of the seven defeats this season have come away from home. At home, Bochum are clearly stronger and more dangerous, even though the victories in Augsburg (3:2) and Fürth (1:0) showed that they are also up to the task away from home in important duels against direct rivals.

In terms of personnel, there will be hardly any changes compared to the last games. Eduard Löwen is still in isolation, so it is quite possible that the coach will use the same starting eleven as against BVB.

Predicted line-up of Bochum:
Riemann – Stafylidis, Masovic, Leitsch, Danilo Soares – Losilla – Pantovic, Rexhbecaj – Antwi-Adjei, Holtmann – Polter

Bielefeld – Bochum Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

The last Bundesliga encounter between these two clubs dates back to the 2008/09 season, at the end of which Arminia were relegated while VfL Bochum stayed in the league in 14th place. Thanks in part to four points from the first and second legs against the Bielefelders. In Germany’s top division, the Ruhr team won eight of the last ten matches. One level below, however, things looked different. Bochum have lost all four of their most recent matches on the Alm.

Bielefeld – Bochum tip

Before the season, Arminia Bielefeld and VfL Bochum were seen as clear relegation candidates. While the East Westphalians are indeed in a deep relegation mess and are very likely to spend the winter in a direct relegation spot, the visitors from the Pot are one of the positive surprises in the top flight. Nobody would have expected the Reis team to finish in tenth place and already have 20 points.

In view of this basic starting position, we do not think it would be a good idea to play the lower betting odds on a home win between Bielefeld and Bochum. Arminia are yet to win at home in 2021/22, scoring just six goals at home and generally providing the most harmless attack in the Bundesliga.

In addition, the promoted team from Bochum is in terrific form, celebrating five wins in the last eight games and even snatching a point from their big neighbours Dortmund at the weekend. In terms of self-confidence and quality, the advantages are definitely on the side of coach Thomas Reis’ team.

Therefore, our first option between Bielefeld and Bochum is to bet on an away win. To minimise the risk, we even go for the two-way market and try the draw-no-bet away win. For this, we find 2.10 as the top odds at bookmaker Unibet, which is worth a stake of five units for us.