Relegation thriller in Cologne!

After all the adversity of the entire season, Cologne are still hoping to avoid relegation. The Effzeh wants to throw everything into the balance and pick up important points against Bochum. This direct duel is particularly explosive due to the constellation in the table, as Bochum are just on the edge of safety

The Cologne vs. Bochum prediction by the local bookmakers indicates a favorite role for the hosts. However, Cologne have collected few points in recent weeks, let alone won any. But that also applies to the club from the Ruhrpott, which is part of the hope for the hosts.

Defensively, both have problems, but Cologne have recently shown themselves to be quite resilient offensively and were also more courageous against Augsburg. This favors a bet on more than 2.5 goals, which seems quite realistic given the current signs

Cologne – statistics & current form

For 1. FC Köln, the entire season has not quite gone according to plan. The transfer ban put paid to any potential winter reinforcements, there were a number of injury concerns and the club also fell out with successful coach Steffen Baumgart. A mammoth task began for Timo Schultz, but he handled it very well. The new coach knows exactly what the team is capable of and has also managed to impose his style on them to some extent, which is not meant in a negative way. The problem: Cologne lack confidence and have one of the weakest squads in the entire league.

This mixture ensures that the Effzeh are in a relegation spot. So it’s all the better that they are now facing an opponent that they somehow still want to catch up with. After the last few weeks, the form curve doesn’t look great, but the 1:1 against Augsburg gave Cologne’s ranks a little more hope. A win could release new energy

But back to this game: Cologne have not won in the league seven times in a row. Four times there was at least a draw to celebrate. Schultz has stabilized the team and given it a compact core that sometimes works more, sometimes less well. There is no doubt that the team cannot be denied its will, which is the minimum the fans can demand.

Cologne with energy in the six-point game

For the hosts, the aim will be to take an early lead in this game. That is a rarity in home games anyway, with Cologne only leading for 133 minutes at home. That resulted in two wins, three in the entire season, which illustrates the dilemma somewhat. Only once has Cologne been as weak in terms of points as they have been this season. However, the fact that the Cologne vs Bochum odds give the home side a slightly positive bias is also down to their opponents, but more on that later.

Cologne have a slight advantage in the direct comparison, as their record against Bochum reads really well. They have won 33 of their 63 matches against this opponent, which is a little encouraging. If they manage to improve this record even further, then VfL will slowly but surely be rattling around in their heads as far as the fight against relegation is concerned.

Predicted Cologne line-up:

Bochum – Statistics & current form

VfL Bochum are anything but satisfied with their current situation. They were supposed to finally break free against SV Darmstadt 98, but that was not the case. The Lilies proved to be a stubborn opponent and managed to come back from 2-0 down. Bochum now have four defeats and a draw from their last five games.

And the mood in the Ruhr region is slowly changing. Letsch is accused of being too timid, parts of the team of not understanding the seriousness of the situation. Bochum urgently need a sense of achievement and at least a point in Cologne, otherwise things could get very uncomfortable very quickly. And now, of all things, they have an away game coming up.

Bochum have the weakest record of any team in the Bundesliga this season. VfL have just one win and a total of seven points away from home. In addition, Letsch’s eleven have conceded 35 of their 56 goals on the road. This only reinforces our prediction of more than 2.5 goals, for which bookmaker Bet365 has set a value of 1.86.

Bochum urgently need to get back on track

The visiting team urgently needs an idea of how to take a step forward. Otherwise, it’s not even out of the question that there won’t be another change on the coaching bench at the end of the season in order to somehow manage to stay in the league. In any case, the omens are not good, with four of the eleven defeats this season coming in the last five games.

And it should not be forgotten that Cologne currently have the slight moral advantage. They know their situation, they have their backs to the wall, but are currently managing to draw strength from it. The match could therefore become a game of destiny for the visitors.

Predicted Bochum line-up:

Cologne – Bochum direct comparison / H2H balance

Cologne have played Bochum a total of 92 times, 63 of them in the Bundesliga. The team from Müngersdorf have won 51 matches, meaning they have won the direct comparison. Bochum have 20 wins, and with 173:105 goals scored, the scoreline also looks positive for Cologne. The first leg was a 1:1 draw

Cologne – Bochum betting tip

Cologne are in the midst of a relegation battle and will want to make a statement against Bochum and drag the visitors even further into the mess. Cologne are without a win in seven matches, but have drawn four in that time. And Bochum are in crisis and have also conceded a lot of goals away from home

Under the current circumstances, we recommend a bet on more than 2.5 goals being scored before this match between Cologne and Bochum. Especially in the event of an early goal, things can get very heated here.