Tough nut to crack at Castroper Straße
It is fair to say up to this point that VfL Bochum are an asset to the Bundesliga. The Revierklub does not play the most determined football, but tactically it is very strong what Thomas Reis’ eleven brings to the pitch week after week. In this form, they probably don’t have to worry too much about relegation to the second division.
On Saturday, TSG Hoffenheim will be the guests at Castroper Straße and the Kraichgauer will do everything they can to crack the VfL defensive bar. Both teams have played to nil four times this season. That is the best in the league, so we would not predict many goals between Bochum and Hoffenheim on Saturday.
There is one more thing in common between these two clubs, as both entered the last 16 of the DFB Cup last week. Hopes are high that they might qualify for the European Cup this way. After Bayern were eliminated, even winning the cup as a Bundesliga team doesn’t seem like a utopia.
The bookmakers see the visitors from Kraichgau as relatively clear favourites. However, we expect more of a match of equals, because especially in their own stadium, the VfL is very difficult to beat. Therefore, we would not underestimate the fact that betting on an away win is the best choice in the match between Bochum and Hoffenheim.
Bochum – Statistics & current form
The fans in Bochum have been longing to finally be treated to Bundesliga football again. Now they are doing everything they can to support their team as best they can – with success. In the home table, VfL are in eleventh place, which is even slightly better than the 14th place they occupy in the regular table.
Home strong Bochum
In the four home games so far, Thomas Reis’ team has conceded only one defeat and has not conceded a goal in three games. Should the VfL manage to deliver this good defensive work on Saturday as well, then you should definitely keep an eye on the odds for a home win without conceding a goal between Bochum and Hoffenheim.
After three competitive game wins in a row, Bochum were beaten in the West duel last weekend. However, at the moment it’s two different things whether VfL play at home or away. They fell 2-0 behind at Borussia Mönchengladbach before Danny Blum only managed to score the equaliser in the final phase of the 2-1 defeat.
It is conceivable that there will be some changes in the line-up on Saturday. Konstantinos Stafylidis is pushing into the starting eleven, as is Milos Pantovic. However, there are still some mainstays of the team that Thomas Reis will have to do without due to injury, namely Maxim Leitsch, Robert Tesche and Simon Zoller.
Predicted line-up of Bochum:
Riemann – Stafylidis, Masovic, Lampropoulos, Danilo Soares – Losilla – Pantovic, Rexhbecaj, Asano, Blum – Polter – Coach: Reis
Last matches played by Bochum:
1st Bundesliga
10/31 2021 – Borussia Mönchengladbach 2 – 1 Vfl Bochum
DFB Cup
10/27 2021 – Vfl Bochum (5)2 – 2(4) Augsburg
1st Bundesliga
10/24 2021 – Vfl Bochum 2 – 0 Eintracht Frankfurt
10/16 2021 – Greuther Fürth 0 – 1 Vfl Bochum
Club friendlies
10/07 2021 – Vfl Bochum 5 – 4 Nijmegen
Hoffenheim – Statistics & current form
It seems like TSG Hoffenheim have two different teams on the pitch when they play at home or away. In their own arena, the Kraichgauers play exhilarating football at times, but away from home, it looks like they have lost their self-confidence.
Away weak Hoffenheimers
So in the last four away games in the Bundesliga, it was just enough for one point. Sure, you can lose in Stuttgart, Dortmund and Munich, but TSG urgently need to work on winning away from home. Under the current circumstances, we wouldn’t make a prediction on an away win in the Bochum vs Hoffenheim match.
After all, there have been two wins in a row recently, both in front of home crowds. The 5:1 in the DFB Cup against Holstein Kiel was nothing more than a must-win. Last weekend, Hertha BSC were guests in Sinsheim. After goals from Andrej Kramaric and Sebastian Rudy, Sebastian Hoeneß’ team wrapped up the 2-0 victory in the first half.
Hoffenheim have plenty of options at Castroper Straße on Saturday. David Raum should certainly return to the team. Especially in midfield, Sebastian Hoeneß has many options to reshuffle his team. Still certain to be out are Marco John, Ermin Bicakcic, Pavel Kaderabek and Benjamin Hübner.
Predicted line-up of Hoffenheim:
Baumann – Posch, Grillitsch, Vogt – Akpogouma, Raum – Geiger, Samassekou, Rudy – Bebou, Kramaric – Coach: Hoeneß
Last matches played by Hoffenheim:
1st Bundesliga
10/29 2021 – Hoffenheim 2 – 0 Hertha Berlin
DFB Cup
10/26 2021 – Hoffenheim 5 – 1 Holstein Kiel
1st Bundesliga
10/23 2021 – Bayern Munich 4 – 0 Hoffenheim
10/15 2021 – Hoffenheim 5 – 0 1. FC Köln
10/02 2021 – VfB Stuttgart 3 – 1 Hoffenheim
Bochum – Hoffenheim Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
It has been a long time since the paths of VfL Bochum and TSG Hoffenheim have crossed. Only in the 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons did the two clubs kick together in the Bundesliga, before the Revierklub bid farewell to the second division for a long time. To date, only four direct duels between these two clubs have been recorded in the history books.
The balance is even, with two victories in each case. In the first season there were two away victories, in the second year two victories for the home team. The last meeting was in February 2010, when Bochum won 2-1 at Castroper Straße. Stanislav Sestak and Zlatko Dedic were successful for VfL. Vedad Ibisevic scored for Hoffenheim.
Bochum – Hoffenheim Tip
The VfL has been in very good form in recent weeks and has left the red zone of the standings. This is mainly due to the fact that Bochum are strong at home and have picked up seven points from the last four games at home, even scoring three times. They also knocked Augsburg out of the cup at the Ruhstadion.
We even go a bit further because the value is incredibly high. We don’t expect many goals and we don’t expect the home side to win by a landslide, but we think a 1:0 or 2:0 is very possible. That is why we have decided to play the betting odds on a win for VfL between Bochum and Hoffenheim.
