Holstein Kiel – VfL Bochum
Our Kiel – Bochum betting tip is: Kiel to win – 2.33 odds
- Kiel with two home wins in the last three Bundesliga games
- In the league at home still unbeaten against Bochum in home games
- Bochum with nine away defeats in ten games
On Sunday at noon, the Bundesliga basement duel awaits us. In the Holstein Stadium, 17th place in the table welcomes 18th place in the league. The teams are currently separated by just two points and are two and four points, respectively, from the relegation place.
Kiel lost a close game in Munich 3-4 on the last match day, with the storks even scoring twice in injury time. The trend has been pointing upwards for Kiel recently – in the last six games, they have earned seven of the current twelve points. Recently, there has been an alternating pattern of points won and points lost. After the defeat in the last game, points should be up for grabs again in this game.
Bochum, on the other hand, have suffered two defeats in a row. Their record away from home is particularly poor, with VfL only managing a single point from ten games. You can find out whether they can improve on this poor record in our Kiel – Bochum betting tip.
Kiel – Bochum info
- Date & Time: 09.02.2025, 3:30 pm
- Venue: Holstein Stadium, Kiel
- Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 21
- TV broadcast/livestream: DAZN
Kiel Form & balance check
Holstein Kiel will face VfL Bochum for the first time in the Bundesliga, but in the 2nd division, the storks remained unbeaten against VfL in their own stadium. Kiel have won three of the 12 meetings between the two (ten wins, two draws), though they did lose 2-1 at home to Bochum in the DFB Cup in November 2002. Kiel are currently in the relegation battle in the Bundesliga, sitting second-bottom and hosting the bottom team in the table. However, their recent record against bottom-placed teams is not encouraging, as the bottom-placed team has remained unbeaten in the last four Bundesliga duels against the penultimate team and won three of those games. Nevertheless, it was VfL Bochum, of all teams, that was the last to suffer a defeat against the 17th-placed team – in October 2022 with 1:4 at VfB Stuttgart.
Kiel are in a difficult phase. Just like Bochum, the KSV have only managed to pick up one point from their three games so far in the second half of the season (one draw, two defeats) – only Heidenheim have fared worse (zero points). Kiel’s last win came during the midweek week in mid-January, when they surprisingly beat Borussia Dortmund 4-2. Defensively, the team remains as weak as ever: With 52 goals conceded after 20 games, Kiel has the weakest defense in the league and shares the negative record for a Bundesliga newcomer with Tennis Borussia Berlin (1974/75). Historically, every team that conceded 52 or more goals after 20 match days has been relegated at the end of the season.
Kiel developing a goal threat
Despite their defensive weaknesses, Kiel are convincing in offense: since matchday 15, the Störche have had the best chance conversion rate in the league at 35 percent and the best major chance conversion rate at 63 percent. In the last six games, Kiel scored 17 goals – the same number as VfL Bochum scored in the entire season. Only Bayern Munich were more successful in this period (20 goals). In addition, the Kiel jokers are extremely dangerous: Steven Skrzybski was the first substitute in Bundesliga history to score twice for KSV against Bayern Munich and has a total of three substitute goals – shared top of the league. Kiel have already scored five substitute goals in 2025 – no other Bundesliga club has scored as many times through substitutes.
But their aerial game remains a major weakness: no team has conceded more headed goals than Kiel (twelve), and they recently conceded two headed goals in a game at Bayern Munich for only the third time this season. Although Bochum are not dangerous in this respect (only one headed goal this season), this defensive vulnerability could again prove fatal for Kiel in a tight game.
Kiel Facts & analysis
- Still undefeated in league matches at home against Bochum
- Worst defense in the league
- Second-highest scoring offense in the last six games
Bochum Form & Record Check
VfL Bochum are experiencing their worst Bundesliga season to date and are at the bottom of the table with only ten points after 20 games. Since the three-point rule was introduced in 1995, only two other teams have achieved a similarly poor record: Greuther Fürth in 2021/22 (also ten points) and Schalke in 2020/21 (eight points). No team with ten or fewer points at this point in time has ever managed to avoid relegation – a bleak prospect for VfL.
Their away form is particularly poor: Bochum have only picked up one point from ten away games in this Bundesliga season – a historically weak tally. Only in the 1992/93 season did VfL have just as few points away from home at the same point in the season. Under coach Dieter Hecking, they have only scored once in five away games – in a 1-1 draw at Union Berlin.
VfL’s recent form gives little cause for hope: like Kiel, Bochum only managed one point in the three second-half games (one draw, two defeats). Their last win was weeks ago: Bochum won 1-0 against St. Pauli in the middle of January during the English week. However, the series against Bundesliga newcomers is a small success: VfL has not been defeated in six games against newcomers (two wins, four draws). Bochum’s last longer unbeaten streak against newcomers was between 1990 and 1992 (eight games, five wins, three draws).
Offense remains biggest problem
The big problem remains the offense: Bochum have scored only 17 goals in this Bundesliga season – by far the weakest tally in the league. Their ineffectiveness in the air is particularly striking: VfL have only scored once with their heads – only St. Pauli are just as weak. Kiel are extremely vulnerable in the air, but Bochum would first have to develop the penetration to take advantage of that.
In the relegation battle, history speaks against VfL: never before has a team with this record managed to avoid relegation. Defensively, the team is a little more stable than Kiel (44 goals conceded), but with the worst away team in the league and the most harmless offense, it will be difficult for VfL to break the negative trend.
Bochum Facts & Analysis
- Worst Bundesliga season in history
- Only one point from ten Bundesliga away games
- Weakest offense in the league
Kiel are expected to play in a 5-4-1 system again under the direction of Marcel Rapp. Bochum, on the other hand, are expected to play in a 4-2-3-1 system under the direction of Dieter Hecking. The VfL will try to improve their poor away record.
Kiel – Bochum head-to-head & statistics
In ten previous duels between the two teams, the storks have four wins. Bochum have three wins, and three more games ended in a draw. The goal difference is 19:14 in favor of Kiel. This will also be only the second meeting between the two teams in the 1st Bundesliga at the same time.
Direct comparison (H2H)
