High risk of stumbling for the cup winners?

Not only VfB Stuttgart (0:1), who are on course for the Champions League, but also FC Bayern Munich (2:3) recently found out just how unpleasant it is to play in the Ruhrstadion. In fact, VfL Bochum have lost only one of their last 14 Bundesliga home games (six wins, seven draws). Although the bookmakers clearly see the visitors from Saxony in the role of favorites, there is little to be said for Bochum vs RB Leipzig betting tip 2

After all, the Red Bulls travel to the Ruhr region in very poor form. The Saxons have won just one of their last seven Bundesliga away games (two draws, four defeats) and have conceded at least one goal in all twelve of their competitive matches away from home. In view of the fact that VfL have scored in 17 Bundesliga home games in a row over the course of the season, our prediction for Bochum against RB Leipzig therefore tends to favor the home team.

VfL Bochum, who have already shared the points with their opponents ten times in 23 matchdays and are back in the bottom four for the first time since matchday ten, will be without keeper Manuel Riemann in this home game, the first Bundesliga keeper since René Adler (HSV, 2012/13) to miss out due to a yellow card suspension. Nevertheless, the Blue & Whites can realistically expect to win a point given their home strength.

Very interesting is the Asian handicap of +1.0 on VfL, which not only covers tip 1 and tip X, but also leads to a refund of the bet if RB Leipzig should prevail by just one goal.

Bochum – Statistics & current form

Last summer, VfL Bochum were still in a direct relegation spot one matchday before the end of the season before a 3-0 home win over Bayer Leverkusen, of all things, lifted the Blue & Whites to 14th place and kept them in the Bundesliga.

A game that, incidentally, is very indicative of the home strength of the team from the Ruhr region, as it is well known that the Werkself have not lost any of their subsequent 33 competitive games since that defeat at the Ruhrstadion (29 wins, four draws).

Bochum are difficult to beat at home

For their part, since a 3:1 defeat against Borussia Mönchengladbach at the end of September 2023, the club for physical exercise has remained unbeaten in eight Bundesliga home games in a row (four wins, four draws) and recently even defeated top teams such as Stuttgart (1:0) and Bayern (3:2).

In total, the defeat against the Foals was the only home defeat in the last 14 Bundesliga games in front of a home crowd (six wins, seven draws). It is therefore quite surprising that the bookmakers’ odds for Bochum against RB Leipzig are so clearly against the Blue & Whites, who are in 15th place in the table but have a comfortable eight-point lead over the relegation places.

Bochum are very accurate, but vulnerable defensively

It has to be said that VfL is very vulnerable defensively, as evidenced by the 46 goals already conceded, which are only topped by bottom-placed Darmstadt 98 (52). However, Thomas Letsch’s men have not only scored every single goal in their last 17 Bundesliga home games, they are also the only Bundesliga team, along with Werder Bremen, to have scored in all seven league games in the 2024 calendar year.

However, there is one fly in the ointment. Keeper Manuel Riemann received his fifth yellow card for complaining during the recent 5-2 defeat in Mönchengladbach. The 35-year-old thus became the first Bundesliga goalkeeper in eleven years (René Adler in 2012/13 for HSV) to miss a game with a yellow card. The fact that central defender Erhan Masovic also has to serve a yellow card is a double setback for Bochum.

Predicted Bochum line-up:

RB Leipzig – Statistics & current form

RB Leipzig had certainly imagined the 2023/24 season very differently. After two overall wins in a row in the DFB Cup, it was not only the exit in the 2nd round (0:1 in Wolfsburg) that was disappointing. The team is also currently only in fifth place in the Bundesliga table, which would mean missing out on a return to the Champions League.

Moreover, the club does not appear to be progressing in the top flight either. The Saxons lost 1-0 at home to Real Madrid. It will be correspondingly difficult for Marco Rose’s side to turn the game around at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu next Wednesday

RB Leipzig made a poor return from the winter break

An away win in the city of Grönemeyer would do the Red Bulls a lot of good as a dress rehearsal. After all, RBL have already lost four of their first seven league games in the 2024 calendar year (two wins, one draw). No other Bundesliga club has lost more often in the new year.

Particularly bitter: In the seven league games after the winter break, there has already been one more defeat (four) than in the entire 16 Bundesliga games before the winter break (only three). If Bochum’s bet on an away win for the Saxons against RB Leipzig fails to materialize, it would plunge the reigning cup winners even deeper into crisis

RB Leipzig have been very vulnerable recently, especially away from home

It should be noted that RBL have recently found it extremely difficult away from home. The Red Bulls have only won one of their last seven Bundesliga away games (two draws, four defeats), which is also linked to their defensive vulnerability on foreign pitches.

The Saxons have now not kept a clean sheet in an away game in twelve competitive matches. That has only happened once before in the club’s history between November 2016 and May 2017…

Predicted line-up of RB Leipzig:

Bochum – RB Leipzig Direct comparison / H2H result

Head to head: 1 – 1 – 8

The two teams have met nine times in the Bundesliga and once in the DFB Cup in competitive matches. RB Leipzig won all of their first eight encounters with VfL Bochum, but remained goalless and winless in both matches against the blue-and-whites in the 2023 calendar year. The team from the Ruhr region also won their last home match to date against the Saxons 1:0 on March 18, 2023.

Bochum – RB Leipzig betting tip

The bookmakers’ odds for Bochum v RB Leipzig are remarkably clear in favor of the visitors, who lost their last game at the Ruhrstadion almost a year ago by 1-0. The in-form Saxons also have a record of four defeats in their last seven Bundesliga away games (one win, two draws). Accordingly, we find it hard to understand why the Red Bulls are the clear favorites, especially as VfL have only lost one of their last 14 Bundesliga home games (six wins, seven draws)

This means that a prediction of Bochum against RB Leipzig cannot be ruled out, which is why we are applying an Asian handicap of +1.0 to Thomas Letsch’s team. This not only covers the home win and the points split, but also ensures that our bet will be refunded in the event of an away win for the Saxons with a difference of just one goal.