Will the Billy Goats show a positive reaction again?

On the penultimate matchday, VfL Bochum, who were still winless, failed to pick up their first win of the season at home to Mainz thanks to a last-minute goal from Rheinhessen. Last weekend, however, it worked out with a 2:1 away win in Darmstadt, which lifted the team from the Ruhr region to 14th place in the table. In principle, the betting odds for Bochum to win against Cologne are therefore also under a good star:

However, VfL is the only team in the Bundesliga that has yet to celebrate a single home win in the 2023/24 season (three draws, one defeat). Whether the Billy Goats can take advantage of that remains to be seen. The Effzeh not only hold the red lantern in the current Bundesliga table. It must also be taken into account in the forecast for Bochum v Cologne that the cathedral city team is the weakest away team in the Bundesliga with just one point out of a possible 15 and 2:13 goals scored

For a short time, all was right with the world again at 1. FC Köln when, after a weak start to the season, the Rhineland derby against Borussia Möchengladbach was won 3:1 after an appealing performance. However, this did not really get the Billy Goats going, as they were subsequently beaten 6-0 in Leipzig and also failed to win the DFB Cup against second-division Kaiserslautern. At least the Effzeh scored against Augsburg last weekend.

That makes it difficult to predict the outcome of this match. Because both teams basically need the three points and have to play to win, but do not have the greatest offensive power, we do not expect a completely uneventful basement duel on the one hand, but also no goal festival on the other. It is therefore very interesting to bet that either two or three goals will be scored in this Saturday evening match

Bochum – statistics & current form

For much of the 2022-23 season, VfL Bochum looked like a certainty to be relegated. As a reminder: This time last year, the Blue & Whites had just four points after ten matchdays.

In the end, they even managed to avoid relegation under Thomas Letsch. Thanks to a 3-0 win over Leverkusen on the final matchday, VfL left a direct relegation spot and climbed to 14th place

Only lost one of the last four league games

After ten matchdays in the new season, the club already has twice as many points (eight) as in the previous season (four). However, the situation for the team from the Ruhr region is of course not completely carefree. The 14th-placed team is only two points clear of the relegation places.

Nevertheless, Bochum could go into this basement duel against the current bottom club in much poorer form. The Blue & Whites recently picked up five out of a possible twelve points from their last four league games, scoring against Leipzig (0:0) and finally celebrating their first three-pointer of the 2023/24 season in Darmstadt (2:1) despite a mixed performance overall.

None of the last four league games against the bottom team won

However, the fact that VfL are the only Bundesliga team not to have won a single home game this season (three draws, one defeat) must also be taken into account in the betting tip for Bochum v Cologne.

To make matters worse, it has not been an advantage for the team from the city of Grönemeyer to play against the bottom team in the Bundesliga in recent times. Bochum have been winless in their last four Bundesliga games against the bottom club (two draws, two defeats).

Predicted Bochum line-up:

Cologne – Statistics & current form

For 1. FC Köln, things have been steadily on the up in recent years under Steffen Baumgart. In the 2022/23 season, the Billy Goats even represented the top tier of German soccer in the UEFA Conference League.

However, after finishing eleventh in the final table of the previous season, the worm has turned in the new season. The Effzeh initially remained winless on the first seven match days, picking up just one point out of a possible 21

Only five points out of a possible 30 from the first ten league games

But then, in the Rhineland derby of all places, the knot burst. Or so everyone involved thought. The 3:1 home win against Borussia Mönchengladbach, in which the cathedral city team could easily have scored three more goals, was followed by a thumping 6:0 defeat at RB Leipzig.

Cologne then also bowed out of the DFB Cup against second-division Kaiserslautern (2:3), before picking up a point against Augsburg (1:1). Nevertheless, the Effzeh have lost six of their last eight competitive matches

The weakest offense in the Bundesliga

So the odds are now also against Steffen Baumgart’s Bochum side against Cologne, who have once again been in the red lantern of the Bundesliga since last weekend. In addition to their weakness on the road – no team has scored fewer points away from home (just one) – this is primarily due to their lack of attacking penetration.

With just eight goals from their first ten league games, the Billy Goats have by far the weakest offense in the Bundesliga. Away from home, the Effzeh have scored just two goals in five Bundesliga away games. This means that Cologne have failed to score in four of their ten league games so far.

Predicted Cologne line-up:

Bochum – Cologne Direct comparison / H2H balance

Head to head: 18 – 20 – 49

There have been a total of 87 meetings between the two teams so far and with 49 wins, 1. FC Köln clearly leads the direct comparison. Most recently, however, VfL Bochum have remained unbeaten against the Geißböcke three times in a row (one win, two draws). Last season, the Blue & Whites picked up four out of a possible six points against the Billy Goats. Two goals were scored in each match (2:0 and 1:1)

Bochum – Cologne betting tip

The betting odds of the best bookmakers for Bochum v Cologne lean slightly towards the home side, who are currently unbeaten in three Bundesliga games against the Effzeh (one win, two draws). However, VfL are the only Bundesliga side yet to win a home game in the 2023/24 season (three draws, one defeat). On the other hand, the Billy Goats have a poor away record, picking up just one point out of a possible 15 away from home

However, Steffen Baumgart’s team showed a good reaction on the last matchday, which the Effzeh started at the bottom of the table, which is why we do not want to make any predictions for the three-way tie between Bochum and Cologne. With two teams that could potentially play for victory but are limited offensively, betting on either two or three goals to be scored makes a lot of sense