Football Bet of the Day: German relegation battle could see first casualty

On Friday night, we’ve got action from the top tiers of England, France, Spain and Germany to assess, and it is the latter that has caught my eye for the Football Bet of the Day.

If you’ve read enough of these previews, you’ll know that I am far more intrigued by relegation battles and lower-league action than Premier League titles, so read on for more of the same for Friday’s Football Bet of the Day. 

Now this is a game that whets my appetite. We’ve got a massive game at the bottom of the Bundesliga coming our way as Heidenheim, currently sitting in 16th, host basement club Bochum at the Voith-Arena. This one is live on Sky Sports+ at 19:30, and I recommend tuning in for the drama. 

This is the last chance saloon for Bochum. If they lose this game, their relegation back to the Bundesliga II will be confirmed after four seasons at this level. They won the relegation play-off last term but have regressed again in 2024/25, amassing just 21 points so far this campaign. Three of those points amazingly came away at Bayern Munich at the start of March as they came from 2-0 down to beat the probable champions, who were reduced to 10 men when Joao Palhinha was sent off. 

That win came as a surprise to all fans of German football, but manager Dieter Hecking has been unable to build on that performance, picking up just four points in the seven league games since. They conceded seven at Eintracht Frankfurt the week after that Bayern win, and have unravelled in truth. 

Football Odds

They’ve got the worst away record in the league, having picked up just eight points on the road, scoring 11 goals in the process. Now they are travelling to Heidenheim, a team who have the worst home record in the league, so will fancy their chances of picking something up on Friday night. But I just can’t see it. 

Heidenheim can relegate the visitors if they beat them, and that will be a massive motivation for the home side. Although we’ve seen them be outclassed by Bayern and Frankfurt in recent weeks, they’ve actually now won three of their last six games to give them a shot at staying up. That form has taken them into that intriguing 16th spot, and survival now has to be the sole aim after a bonkers season. 

Heidenheim vs Bochum Odds

You might quickly forget that Heidenheim finished eighth in the Bundesliga last season, qualifying them for the Conference League this term, a competition in which they won six of 10 matches before being knocked out by Copenhagen. It’s clearly taken it out of them, but now they can focus back on the league after that European adventure. 

They’ve picked up in recent weeks and unlike their opponents, have actually shown signs of life as we enter the crunch time of the campaign. Importantly, they sit five points behind Hoffenheim which means they will have to go all out for the win to try and avoid the dreaded relegation play-off. I think they will get the job done and consign Bochum to the second tier on Friday night. 

Offers

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You can read all our latest Football Bet of the Day offerings at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.