Bochum vs Hoffenheim Prediction: Die Blauen can boost survival hopes at home

There are just four games remaining for VFL Bochum to preserve their Bundesliga status without the need to win a two-legged play-off tie against a second-division side. Currently, Die Unabsteigbaren (the unrelegatables, who have actually been demoted six times) are 16th, 10 points ahead of bottom-club Darmstadt and five in front of 17th-placed FC Koln, but behind Mainz (15th) on goal difference.

Their next quest for three points comes at their home - the Vonovia Ruhrstadion - on Friday evening with TSG Hoffenheim providing the opposition. Read on for my Bochum vs Hoffenheim prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds ahead of this 19:30 kick-off, which can be watched live in the UK via the Sky Sports YouTube channel.

Bochum suffered a 1-0 defeat at Wolfsburg last time out and haven't tasted victory since a 3-2 triumph over Bayern Munich on February 18, with Die Blauen currently in the midst of an eight-game winless run.

Hoffenheim, meanwhile, beat Borussia Monchengladbach 4-3 last weekend to draw level on points with eight-placed Augsburg, who are above them only on goal difference.

With four games remaining, there is a small - but slim - chance that they can qualify for Europe, with Eintracht Frankfurt six points better off in sixth, which would see them play in the Europa Conference League next season.

Team News

Bochum's loss at the Volkswagen Arena was costly for more than one reason. Patrick Osterhage and Christopher Antwi-Adjei each picked up their fifth yellow card of the campaign, enough to earn themselves a one-game suspension.

Moritz Kwarteng, Mohammed Tolba, Michael Esser and Niclas Theide have all been ruled out through injury, while ex-Arsenal striker Takuma Asano is a doubt after being withdrawn against Wolfsburg with a thigh problem.

The visitors will be without injured trio Mergim Berisha, Marco John and Stanley Nsoki, while Dennis Geiger is another player who could miss out as a result of a groin issue.

Match Odds

Bochum are 5/4 to secure a long-awaited victory, giving them an implied win probability of 44.4%, while Hoffenheim are 15/8, or a 34.8% chance. The draw, meanwhile, can be backed at 11/4 (26.7%).

Both teams to score is 2/5 and over 2.5 goals is 4/9.

Bochum or draw & both teams to score @ 19/20

There have been few things more certain this season than both teams scoring in a Hoffenheim game - it's happened in 87% (26/30) of their Bundesliga matches, which is more frequently than any other side in the division. They have failed to win 16 of those games, however.

Bochum aren't much further down in the Bundesliga BTTS table, with 70% (21/30) of their league matches seeing both teams find the net.

Hoffenheim emerged 3-1 winners from December's reverse fixture in Sinsheim, but their recent away record has been dreadful. They've won just one of their last 11 league games on the road after starting the season with five-straight away wins.

Bochum, meanwhile, have won the vast majority of their points (20/27) at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion, with their home form marking them out as a mid-table Bundesliga outfit.

They haven't won any of their last four on their own patch, though, which is why the insurance of a double chance result - coupled with BTTS - might be the smart play on Friday.

Keven Schlotterbeck to score anytime @ 15/2

Before joining Bochum on a six-month loan in January 2023, Keven Schlotterbeck had never scored in the Bundesliga, making 70 appearances across four-and-a-half seasons for Freiburg and Union Berlin.

The German defender scored twice in 15 games, though, to help his loan club secure safety in the top-flight, with a 94th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Hertha BSC on the penultimate matchday of the 2022/23 campaign proving particularly pivotal.

Schlotterbeck started the opening game of the current season on Freiburg's bench before returning on loan to Bochum, who are in the midst of another relegation battle.

The 26-year-old started off slowly in front of goal, finding the net just once in his first 14 appearances, but he has now scored three in his last nine, netting past Bayern, Monchengladbach and Heidenheim.

All four of his goals this season - and the two he struck in the previous campaign - came from his head, and that could spell trouble for a Hoffenheim side that has conceded 13 goals from set pieces this term - only Darmstadt (15) have shipped more from set pieces this term.

Only four clubs - Bayern (17), Bayer Leverkusen, Monchengladbach and Heidenheim (all 14) have scored more goals from set pieces than Bochum (12) in the Bundesliga, so this is an area the hosts will surely look to exploit on Friday, with Schlotterbeck providing a huge threat in the air.

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