VfL Bochum – FC Augsburg
On Saturday, five exciting Bundesliga games await us in the conference. At Castroper Straße, a clash between two teams who would presumably see off the relegation battle completely with a win. Find out who will secure the three extremely important points in our Bochum – Augsburg betting tip.
On paper, 13th and 14th place meet on Saturday. Normally, these two teams are still in the thick of the relegation battle, but that doesn’t seem to be the case this season. FCA currently have 21 points to their name, while Bochum have just one point less. Meanwhile, 1. FC Köln, who are in the relegation places, only have twelve points.
In the previous week, however, neither team gained any more points. However, the opponents of the two rivals were also absolute top teams. The Fuggerstädter narrowly lost 3:2 at home to FC Bayern, while Bochum lost 3:1 at BVB.
Bochum – Augsburg info
- Date & Time: 03.02.2024, 3:30 pm
- Playing venue: Vonovia Ruhrstadion, Bochum
- Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 20
- TV broadcast: Sky
Bochum Form & Balance Check
Fans in the German top flight were denied a visit to Castroper Straße for many years. Between 2010 and 2021, VfL Bochum remained in the Bundesliga 2. However, the men from the deep west are now at home in the German top flight for the third year in a row. And it currently looks as though a fourth year will follow.
Coach Thomas Letsch’s men have 20 points to their name so far, one point more than at the same point in the previous season. This puts VfL in 14th place and already eight points ahead of Cologne in 16th. In the previous week, however, they suffered a deserved 3:1 defeat against Borussia Dortmund
Bochum in bad luck?
In the previous season, VfL Bochum were somewhat fortunate in purely statistical terms to stay in the top flight. Bochum scored almost three points more than expected and had the second-worst xPTS score in the entire league. This season, however, luck seems to have conspired against the men from the deep west.
After the first 19 games, VfL have 3.37 points less in their account than expected. In addition, Bochum have scored almost eight goals fewer than the statistics would suggest. In addition, VfL conceded an equalizer in stoppage time in two direct basement duels and thus missed out on four important points
Bochum facts & analysis
- VfL Bochum have not lost any of their last 8 home games.
- When VfL Bochum is leading 1-0 in home matches they win 64% of them.
- When VfL Bochum is 0-1 down in home matches they win 0% of them.
Augsburg Form & Balance Check
FC Augsburg are regarded by the public as an unremarkable team in the Bundesliga. Although the Fuggerstädter have never been relegated from Germany’s top division, they have mostly finished the seasons at the bottom of the table. In the past eight years, FCA have always finished between twelfth and fifteenth place. This season, too, it seemed for a long time that Augsburg would feel at home in this region of the table.
Under new coach Jess Thorup, however, the visitors’ form steadily improved and FCA even climbed into the top half of the table at times. However, Augsburg are now back in 13th place in an extremely competitive midfield after their defeat to Bayern the previous week. Werder Bremen in ninth place, however, are just two points away
Demirovic outstanding
Augsburg captain Ermedin Demirovic scored both goals for his team in the defeat against FC Bayern. The attacker reached double figures in goals in a season for the first time in the Bundesliga, with a total of ten goals. The 25-year-old is therefore on course to set a new Augsburg club record in the Bundesliga.
No FCA player has ever scored more than 13 goals in one season in the Bundesliga. Both Florian Niederlechner in the 2019/20 season and Michael Gregoritsch in the 2017/18 season achieved this. Demirovic’s previous professional goal record was 14 goals, which he scored for St. Gallen in the Swiss Super League in 2019/20.
Augsburg facts & analysis
- Today’s goals: FC Augsburg have failed to score in 4 of their 9 away games in the Bundesliga this season.
- When FC Augsburg leads 0-1 in away matches, they win 16% of them.
- When FC Augsburg is 1-0 down in away matches, they win 12% of those matches.
Predicted lineup – last update on February 1, 2024
VfL Bochum will probably play a 4-3-3 again this week. Coach Thomas Letsch will probably not change many positions. However, winger Takuma Asano will remain at the Asian Championship.
The visitors from the Fuggerstadt are likely to start with a diamond formation again. Compared to the defeat against Bayern, we expect only a few changes to the starting eleven. Only the strong Arne Engels could move into the starting line-up for Elvis Rexhbecaj
Bochum – Augsburg head-to-head & stats
There have only been eight meetings between the two opponents. Bochum have won five of those games, while Augsburg have only won twice. However, the only two FCA victories took place at Castroper Straße.
- In the last 8 duels, VfL Bochum have left the pitch as winners 4 times. 2 games ended in a draw, FC Augsburg won 2 times. VfL Bochum have a goal difference of 12-12.
- A look at VfL Bochum: Takuma Asano is the top scorer with 5 goals. Ermedin Demirovic scored 10 times for FC Augsburg.
- Kevin Stoger has the most assists for VfL Bochum with 4 assists. Ermedin Demirovic (5) is ahead for FC Augsburg.
- On average VfL Bochum scores 1.8 goals against FC Augsburg and FC Augsburg scores 1.6 goals against VfL Bochum.
- VfL Bochum scores 1.61 goals on average in home matches and FC Augsburg scores 1.45 goals on average in away matches (on average).
