After the high point, will a setback follow?

What Borussia from Mönchengladbach set off on Wednesday evening for a true football firework is difficult to describe in words, even a few days later. The Foals managed the perfect game against the record champions from Munich, which ultimately ended 5:0 for coach Adi Hütter’s team. Now, one could assume that this gala performance will lead to another spectacle for the team from the Lower Rhine in the Bundesliga, but on Sunday evening, at the end of the tenth matchday, a real opponent awaits the cup heroes

In order to make a suitable prediction between Gladbach and Bochum, one must first look at the direct comparison. In fact, Borussia has not won any of the past 15 (!) duels against VfL in the Bundesliga. The last full success in Germany’s top division dates back to 1997, when some of the home side’s players were not even born yet…

After the convincing performance against FC Bayern Gladbach is also the clear favourite against Bochum according to the odds, we are not really surprised. Whether the one-sided betting odds are justified, however, can also be critically discussed. Particularly in view of the fact that the visitors from the Ruhr region have recently shown an upward trend in form and have even been able to celebrate two wins in a row in the league. Will Hütter’s team be brought right back down to earth on Sunday evening?

Gladbach – Statistics & current form

After a disappointing start to the season, nobody would have bet a penny on Borussia Mönchengladbach, a club with a long tradition that has never won the DFB Pokal against FC Bayern, causing the record champions their biggest humiliation in decades. The score was 5:0 after 90 one-sided minutes for the Foals, who played themselves into a real frenzy in the opening phase and deservedly increased the score after half-time.

Despite all the justified euphoria, coach Adi Hütter now has to make sure that the impressive victory is properly assessed and does not have a negative effect on the upcoming matches. In the past, it was not uncommon for a team to suffer a setback immediately after an absolute highlight. The fact is that the home match against VfL Bochum will be quite different from the one against Bayern.

Expectations raised: Gladbach have something to lose

Despite this, there are of course various glimmers of hope that should encourage the host’s fans. For example, Borussia is still unbeaten at home in 2021/22. They have won two and drawn two of their first four Bundesliga home games this season. The Austrian coach on the Fohlen bench could thus become the first coach at the club since André Schubert to go without a defeat in his first five games at Borussia Park.

The task will not be easy, however, especially as the Cup heroes have struggled recently, especially against compactly defending teams. A 1-1 draw against VfB Stuttgart and the bitter 1-0 defeat against Hertha BSC the previous week were the best examples of this. To make matters worse, the team from the Lower Rhine is currently twelfth in the standings and is under pressure to avoid losing any more points in order to achieve its own goals.

There is therefore a certain residual risk against the fearful opponent that must be taken into account before we recommend a suitable tip between Gladbach and Bochum. Incidentally, there was also bad news to cope with in the repeatedly mentioned cup win against the FCB. Jordan Beyer, for example, had to be substituted early on and will be missing until further notice due to injury. He thus joins Doucouré, Lainer, Kramer and Jantschke in the lazaretto.

Predicted line-up of Gladbach:
Sommer – Ginter, Elvedi, Bensebaini – Scally, Zakaria, Koné, Netz – Hofmann, Stindl – Embolo

Last games played by Gladbach:

DFB Cup
10/27 2021 – Borussia Mönchengladbach 5 – 0 Bayern Munich

1st Bundesliga
10/23 2021 – Hertha Berlin 1 – 0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

10/16 2021 – Borussia Mönchengladbach 1 – 1 VfB Stuttgart

10/02 2021 – Vfl Wolfsburg 1 – 3 Borussia Mönchengladbach

09/25 2021 – Borussia Mönchengladbach 1 – 0 Borussia Dortmund

Bochum – Statistics & current form

It wasn’t just at Borussia Park that things got extremely emotional during the week in the DFB Cup. In the Ruhr, too, numerous fans jumped, sang and cheered on their VfL Bochum’s progress in the home match against FC Augsburg. Despite a 2:0 lead, the promoted team had to go into extra time and then even into a penalty shoot-out. There, goalkeeper Riemann became the hero when he, only substituted in the 119th minute, put the decisive penalty kick into the goal.

The team’s entry into the round of 16 is further proof of the excellent work coach Thomas Reis is doing at the traditional club. In the league, too, the Ruhrpottler’s development curve has clearly been pointing upwards. Six points from the last three games and two clean sheets in a row provide a lot of self-confidence and a positive interim result for the 14th-placed team, which can currently build on a four-point cushion on 16th place in the relegation battle in the Bundesliga.

Bochum remain Borussia’s fearful opponents

Although VfL have conceded 13 of their total of 16 goals away from home, there are certainly arguments to predict a good result for the visitors between Gladbach and Bochum. In the past 14 away games on the Lower Rhine, for example, the Blue and Whites have always scored. Looking at the past 15 direct encounters in the top flight, the relegation candidates have not lost at all.

In conjunction with the aforementioned self-confidence and the pressure-free starting position, which enables coach Thomas Reis’ team to go into the game with the necessary ease, the Gladbach vs Bochum odds on the supposed outsider are not at all uninteresting. The fact that Bockhorn, Leitsch, Tesche and Zoller are all out injured does not change anything.

Predicted line-up of Bochum:
Riemann – Gamboa, Masovic, Lampropoulos, Danilo Soares – Losilla – Löwen, Rexhbecaj – Asano, Holtmann – Polter

Last matches played by 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

1st Bundesliga
10/02 2021 – RB Leipzig 3 – 0 Vfl Bochum

Gladbach – Bochum Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

We have already reported in detail on the extremely impressive series of now 15 consecutive Bundesliga games in which Bochum have not lost to Gladbach. It is also worth mentioning that VfL have never collected more points away from home than in the Lower Rhine region. The Ruhr team also scored 42 goals against no other opponent. However, since the last encounters in the top flight of German football took place more than ten years ago, all statistics should of course be treated with caution.

Gladbach – Bochum Tip

The final match of the Bundesliga on Matchday 10 will be a clash between Gladbach and Bochum at Borussia Park. According to the betting odds, the question of the favourite does not really arise. The 1.37 in the top on the home win can be justified mainly by Wednesday night’s gala against FC Bayern.

In our eyes, however, this is the completely wrong approach. Despite a lot of self-confidence and a certain home strength, Sunday’s home match against the promoted team has absolutely nothing to do with the cup match against the record champions. The starting position is completely different, especially since Borussia now has to win, feels more pressure and also meets an opponent who will defend more compactly and deep than the FCB did on Wednesday.

In our opinion, the better option in the Gladbach vs. Bochum clash is to bet that the home side will struggle. We don’t necessarily doubt that Hütter’s team will win the match, but it might not be as clear-cut as many bookmakers are expecting at the moment.

The Bochum side should lose by a maximum of one goal difference. If you want to take even more risks, you can also find lucrative odds for the double chance X2. Thomas Reis’ team should not be underestimated, even if they have 30 minutes more in the bones than the inspired Foals.

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