Will the slide continue under Butscher?

After last season’s strong showing, hardly anyone would have thought that Thomas Reis would have to take his hat off at VfL Bochum after just six matchdays. In the end, however, it was the promotion coach’s undoing that he was probably thinking of leaving for Schalke in the summer and that he could no longer give his team any sporting impetus. Interim U19 coach Heiko Butscher will take charge and also coach VfL at the match.

On Sunday afternoon, the bottom team will face an opponent who was still active on the international stage on Thursday evening, where they celebrated an important 4:2 victory over Slovacko. Before the 5:30 p.m. kick-off in the Bochum vs. Cologne clash, the odds are understandably in favour of the visitors. Nevertheless, the home side will be hoping that the change of coach will have a certain positive effect.

The fact that the task against the Geißböcke promises to be a complicated one is underlined by the “Effzeh’s” record away from home. Five points were recorded in three away games. In addition, the Cathedral City team usually enjoys playing against the club from the Pot. The Rhinelanders have not lost to the Blue and Whites in six consecutive matches in the top flight. If you still want to bet on a home win between Bochum and Cologne, you can get more than three times your stake back if you are successful.

Bochum – Statistics & current form

In the run-up to the “darned” second season after promotion, VfL Bochum were considered by many experts to be the hottest contenders for relegation from the Bundesliga. After six match days, it has to be said: rightly so! The 13th-placed team from last year has lost all six games so far. With zero points and a goal difference of 4:18, VfL are at the bottom of the table and even if they win on Sunday afternoon, they will remain in last place until the beginning of October. They are already five points behind the bottom of the table.

Bochum are only the third team in Bundesliga history to be completely empty-handed after six matches. Incidentally, one of the other two clubs to suffer this fate, FSV Mainz 05, still managed to stay in the league in 2020/21.

What can Heiko Butscher achieve?

In order to increase the likelihood of staying in the top flight, those responsible took action after the 1:3 at Schalke and sent Thomas Reis out the door. On Sunday, Heiko Butscher will coach the team. Dimitrios Grammozis currently seems to be a hot favourite as a potential successor.

The top priority, however, is now the important home match against 1. FC Köln, where the team also wants to close ranks with its own fans. This is also bitterly necessary, as a Bundesliga team has never had such a poor record as VfL after three matches in front of a home crowd. Three games, three defeats and a goal difference of -10 correspond to a yield, coach change or not, that virtually prohibits making a prediction in the direction of the home side between Bochum and Cologne.

Missing fitness as a shortcoming?

A further complicating factor is that the men from the Ruhr are not making a particularly fit impression at the moment. This can be seen from the fact that they are the only team in the Bundesliga not to have scored a goal in the last half hour of a match, while at the same time they have already conceded eight (!) goals since minute 60.

In conjunction with the highest number of goals conceded of all teams (18), the weakness after standards (already four goals conceded after corner kicks) and the fact that the VfL has perhaps the weakest squad in the Beletage in terms of quality at its disposal, the odds on the guest in the duel between Bochum and Cologne should rather be considered. Asano and Grave are definitely out. Heintz and Goralski are question marks. If Butscher wants to make a statement on his debut, he will swap goalkeepers and bring on Esser instead of Riemann.

Predicted line-up of Bochum:
Riemann – Gamboa, Ordets, Heintz, Danilo Soares – Losilla, Goralski – Stöger – Zoller, Holtmann – P. Hofmann

Last matches played by Bochum:

Bundesliga
18/09/2022 – VfL Bochum 1 – 1 1. FC Köln

10/09/2022 – Schalke 04 3 – 1 VfL Bochum

03/09/2022 – VfL Bochum 0 – 2 Werder Bremen

27/08/2022 – SC Freiburg 1 – 0 VfL Bochum

21/08/2022 – VfL Bochum 0 – 7 Bayern Munich

Cologne – Statistics & current form

Joy and sorrow are very often close together in football. 1. FC Köln has also experienced a real rollercoaster ride of emotions in the past two weeks. First, the away game at VfL Wolfsburg was won 4:2, before the 1-1 draw in Nice took a back seat due to riots by both fan camps.

The Geißböcke then played their weakest game of the season so far at home against Union (0:1), only to bounce back with a 4:2 win at home against Slovacko in the Conference League on Thursday. In view of these many and varied impressions, it is anything but easy to correctly assess the current performance of the Cathedral City team. Consequently, we will refrain from making a prediction on the three-way market in the Bochum vs.

Cologne strong away from home so far

Looking at their performances away from home so far, we definitely trust Baumgart’s eleven to score a goal or two against the weakest defence in the league. Seven of the ten goals scored so far have been celebrated in opposing stadiums.

This, in turn, means that the Geißböcke are still unbeaten after three matches away from home and could even start with four matches away from home without defeat for the first time since 1987/88. A little fun fact on the side: Back then, they even finished third in the final standings…

An important aspect to consider at the end of the second English week in a row is, of course, the personnel situation. Although coach Baumgart started the rotation machine in the Europa League on Thursday, the list of absentees is constantly growing.

Central defender Luca Kilian is missing due to his yellow card, so newcomer Soldo may make his debut in the top flight. Especially because Chabot, another defender, is out injured. Uth, Andersson, Olesen and Limnios are also in hospital. At least the coach doesn’t have to worry about further games, because after this weekend it’s time for the international break.

Projected line-up of Cologne:
Schwäbe – Ki. Schindler, Hübers, Soldo, Pedersen – Martel, Skhiri – Thielmann, Duda, Adamyan – S. Tigges

Last matches played by Köln:

Bundesliga
18/09/2022 – VfL Bochum 1 – 1 1. FC Köln

Europa Conference League Grp. D

16/09/2022 – 1. FC Köln 4 – 2 Slovacko

Bundesliga
11/09/2022 – 1. FC Köln 0 – 1 Union Berlin

Europa Conference League Grp. D
09/09/2022 – Nice 1 – 1 1. FC Köln

Bundesliga
03/09/2022 – VfL Wolfsburg 2 – 4 1. FC Köln

Bochum – Cologne Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

60 Matches the two teams have played so far in the highest German division. More than half of the encounters (33) went to Cologne, who in turn celebrated a third of the aforementioned victories away from home.

On average, the Rhinelanders score 1.92 points per game against VfL. They have no better points average against any other first division team. In addition, the Ruhr team has now waited six games for a win against the Cathedral team. Last season, the teams drew 2:2 at the Ruhrstadion, with the Geißböcke winning the first leg 2:1.

Bochum – Cologne tip

For an opposing analyst, it is always the most thankless task to pick out patterns of a team that will play under a new coach for the first time. Cologne are now faced with exactly that task, as VfL Bochum released Thomas Reis after the 3-1 defeat in the minor Revier derby at Schalke and now go into this seminal match with U19 coach Heiko Butscher.

There have never been seven defeats at the start of a Bundesliga season. But that is exactly what the bottom team from the Ruhr is now threatening, having not only lost all six matches so far, but also conceding the most goals and being considered one of the hottest candidates for relegation in the run-up to this season. No wonder, then, that lower betting odds are offered on the away win between Bochum and Cologne.

We have opted for a bet on the visitors to score in both halves in the clash between Bochum and Cologne. Despite the double burden, Baumgart’s eleven plays lively attacking football, mostly even regardless of losses. We do not believe that the home side will suddenly turn around. Perhaps the change of coach will even lead to the VfL being a little naive and opening up even more spaces.