This is a highly lopsided matchup between a top-four Bundesliga team from last season and a side that narrowly avoided relegation through playoffs. A convincing victory for the home side, RB Leipzig, is expected.
Match Analysis: RB Leipzig vs Bochum
After finishing fourth last season, Marco Rose’s RB Leipzig kicked off the new campaign with a strong 4-1 win over RW Essen in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. They now face Bochum, who barely escaped relegation last season by winning a playoff.
Dani Olmo left Leipzig this season to join Barcelona, and Antonio Nusa has been brought in as a replacement. Xavi Simons has also been re-loaned from PSG for another season.
Leipzig has reinforced their squad by signing goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt to compete with Peter Gulacsi. However, young midfielder Assan Ouedraogo, who was also signed, is currently sidelined with a knee injury. Baumgartner, Bitshiabu, Elmas, and Schlager are other potential absentees for Leipzig in this match.
Bochum, under interim coach Heiko Butscher, managed to stay in the Bundesliga by defeating Fortuna Dusseldorf in a penalty shootout. They have now appointed Peter Zeidler as their permanent coach.
Zeidler’s squad showed promise during preseason with a 6-0 win over Le Havre but was knocked out in the first round of the DFB-Pokal after a 0-1 loss to Regensburg.
Bochum has lost several key players from last season, including creative midfielder Kevin Stöger. Patrick Osterhage and Takuma Asano have also left, which poses significant challenges for Bochum.
Despite these losses, Bochum has yet to spend any money in the transfer market, relying on loan deals and free transfers, such as Patrick Drewes, Dani de Wit, Samuel Bamba, Jakov Medic, and Myron Boadu.
In head-to-head matches, Leipzig has dominated Bochum, winning nine of their last 11 encounters. The disparity in quality was evident last season when Leipzig beat Bochum 4-1. A similarly one-sided result is expected this time around.
According to today’s match schedule, RB Leipzig vs Bochum will kick off at 20:30 on August 24th.
Special Predictions for RB Leipzig vs Bochum
- Leipzig to win by 2 goals or more: In terms of squad quality, Leipzig is far superior to Bochum. With the added advantage of playing at home, a comfortable win is likely.
- Over 4 goals in the match: This game is expected to feature plenty of goals. In their last 11 meetings, Leipzig has averaged 2.2 goals against Bochum. Backed by home support, Leipzig could score multiple goals.
- At least 1 goal in the first half: Leipzig has scored in the first half in their last 11 matches, so it’s likely that the trend will continue.
Predicted Score: RB Leipzig 4-0 Bochum