VfL Bochum – RB Leipzig Tip
Surely RB Leipzig’s officials, players and fans knew they faced a very tough task in the Champions League round of 16 against Manchester City. But after the decent 1:1 in the first leg at home, the Bulls still had hope.
That hope was brutally dashed by the Skyblues in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday with a 7-0 dismantling. City striker Erling Haaland scored five times.
This weekend, coach Marco Rose’s men will return to the daily routine in the Bundesliga. The aim here is to secure a place among the top four so that they can once again compete with the best clubs in Europe in the coming season.
RB are guests at Castroper Straße on Saturday afternoon. With coach Thomas Letsch, Bochum are still in the midst of a relegation battle, but can also hope to stay in the league.
However, the VfL does not have such good memories of the first leg against Leipzig. In the first game under the new coach Letsch, they suffered a clear 0:4 defeat in the Red Bull Arena.
If you believe the betting odds, there is not much to be gained for the Ruhr club in the return match either. My Bochum RB Leipzig betting tip at Betano with odds of 1.70 on “more than 2.5 goals” will show why I am going for it.
The betting provider’s forecast?
The starting position for the Bochum RB Leipzig prediction is clear. The Champions League aspirant is the guest of the relegation candidate. Of course, this also has an effect on the betting odds.
With the success on the last matchday, VfL climbed to 14th place. Bochum has only been better placed once this Bundesliga season. After Matchday 1, the Ruhr club was in 12th place.
Against the Bullen, the Blue and Whites are nevertheless the clear underdogs with win odds averaging 5.79. On the other hand, there are just average odds of 1.57 for a win for the visitors.
Analysis: Bochum vs RB Leipzig
For Bochum, the form curve was pointing steeply downwards after the poor derby performance against Schalke and the fourth defeat in a row. But on the last matchday in Cologne, VfL sent out a sign of life.
With a lot of passion, good organisation and a strong running performance, the Blue and Whites took the Geißböcken by the scruff of the neck and in the end deserved to win 2:0.
The return of leader Anthony Losilla also had a positive effect on the team. In addition, the central defence with Erhan Masovic and Ivan Ordets was very stable.
As a result, coach Thomas Letsch’s team remained without conceding a goal for the first time in the new year. With 18.7 kilometres, the players also reached their top value of the season.
With 56 goals conceded, however, Bochum still have by far the weakest defence in the league. Also, no other team is as susceptible to standards as the club from Castroper Straße.
Now the VfL wants to work on its home record again. After five home victories in a row, the Ruhrstadion recently suffered two defeats against Freiburg and Schalke without scoring a goal of their own.
The hope of remaining in the league is also alive thanks to the coach. In the 17th first league match, Bochum celebrated their seventh victory under Letsch. No VfL coach has scored more goals in his first 17 games.
Gamboa and Zoller are out against RB. Danilo Soares is still on the fence.
Quote analysis
In the Bundesliga, VfL are still waiting for their first goal against RB after three duels. The fact that Bochum remained without a goal of their own in the last two home games also fits in with this.
The ball has also not found the net in any of the last five games involving the blue and whites on both sides. The bookmakers, however, have a slightly different expectation for the Bochum vs RB Leipzig preview.
With an average odds of 1.76, the “Yes” option in the “Both teams score” betting market has the edge. For more than 2.5 goals, the bookies even offer odds averaging 1.69.
At least sports bettors can disregard the draw when looking at the statistics of the Ruhr club under coach Letsch. Because in the first 17 games under the coach, there has always been a winner so far.
Haaland becomes a Bullen nightmare
Against the Premier League champions, RB really needed an exceptional performance. Instead, it was the worst performance under coach Rose and the highest defeat in the club’s history.
The Leipzigers never had a grip on the game and made catastrophic individual mistakes in the build-up and in defence. Four goals alone were conceded from standard situations.
The Bullen had to be glad that Haaland was substituted after only one hour. Since coach Rose took office, the Saxons have the best defence in the Bundesliga with 20 goals conceded.
But Leipzig can certainly cope with the loss to Manchester City. However, it is now a question of how the club deals with this setback. RB can continue to dance on two high tides nationally.
RB must finish in the top 4 of the league
The Bullen also had problems for a long time against Gladbach on the last league matchday. Only in the last half hour after a missed penalty by the Foals did the home side get into the game and in the end won clearly with 3:0.
The results in the “Rose era” are also more than respectable. The team scored 40 points from 19 games. Only Bayern (41) are better in this period.
However, RB has a much harder time away from home. Their record here is merely balanced, with four wins, four draws and four defeats. On the other hand, they are in first place in the home table.
In Bochum, Gulacsi, Diallo, Schlager and Nkunku are missing. After the game in the royal class, some fresh forces will surely get a chance.
A record can hardly be much clearer. VfL have played RB eight times so far, once in the DFB Cup, four times in the 2nd Bundesliga and three times in the first division.
Bochum’s record against the Bullen is eight defeats and a goal difference of 2:20. The only two goals were scored in the German Unterhaus, in a 1:2 and a 1:3 defeat.
On the other hand, the Ruhr club is of course also the Saxons’ absolute favourite opponent. Against no other club does Leipzig have such an unblemished record.
The first leg on matchday 8 ended with a 4:0 victory for Leipzig and could have been even higher.
My tip:
This match is also about the question of how Leipzig have coped with the debacle in the top flight and whether they can bounce back? Against their favourite opponent, almost everything speaks in favour of a RB victory.
However, VfL Bochum is much stronger at home than away. In addition, the Bullen are only in a rather weak ninth place in the away table.
So there are still a few doubts about an away win. But when the second-best offence meets the weakest defence, goals should be guaranteed.
My Bochum RB Leipzig prediction is therefore: There will be over 2.5 goals!
