The two weeks off will certainly have a positive effect on Bayer Leverkusen, who have played a huge number of matches since the start of the year. The first step after the break is a clash with Bochum, who are fighting for survival.
Most fans believe that the Bundesliga title race is over and Bayer Leverkusen have no chances to defend their title. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich recorded back-to-back games without a win before the break, proving that there is no telling what we can expect in the remaining eight rounds.
Leverkusen's schedule is already lighter since they dropped out of the Champions League, and they also have seemingly easier matches in the Bundesliga. Xabi Alonso's players also finally ended their run of three consecutive losses after they achieved another turnaround in added time and shocked Stuttgart from 3-1 to 3-4.
Bochum also have a serious task, and the tension is just as high, the difference being that they are fighting for survival. They have been making progress over the last two months, losing just two of their last five league games. They even managed to turn around Bayern Munich for 2-3, although the Bavarians played with a lot of reserves and had a red card in that game.
How the bookies view it: Nothing unexpected
Bookmakers didn't give Bochum much of their trust, with the visitors being a huge underdog as in most of their away games. You can pick Bayer Leverkusen at 1/4, the draw at 21/4, and the away win at 10/1.
Recent head-to-head: Bochum are yet to score a goal at BayArena
The rivalry between these two teams has served us some interesting results in recent years. Interestingly, Bayer Leverkusen have struggled in away games, winning just one of four since Bochum returned to the Bundesliga in 2021. By contrast, Bayer won all three of their home games and have yet to concede a goal (7-0 aggregate).
Players to watch: Schick is on fire
Patrik Schick was definitely one of the players who made the most of his time with the national team, scoring three goals in the Czech Republic's two games. Individually, he is having one of his best seasons with Bayer Leverkusen as he now has 17 Bundesliga goals and a total of 22 in all competitions. It should also be noted that he has scored a total of five goals for Bochum in the last few seasons, with only more goals against Hoffenheim and Freiburg
Probable line-ups
Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky, Hincapie, Andrich, Tah, Grimaldo, Xhaka, Palacios, Frimpong, Adli, Schick, Buendia
Bochum: Horn, Bernardo, Ordets, Ouermann, Passlack, Bero, Sissoko, Krauss, Wittek, Masouras, Hofmann
Anything else catch the eye?
Interestingly, Friday matches rarely end with a positive result for Bayer Leverkusen. The team has lost as many as four of the last eight such games, but in this case, we expect no mistakes. Xabi Alonso will motivate his players to the maximum and squeeze the most out of their abilities in the remaining matches.
We've already noted that Bochum have yet to score at this stadium in their modern history, and we don't expect that to happen here. Leverkusen's defence hasn't been perfect in recent weeks, but we expect them to be faultless in this one.
This German Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bochum will be played on and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best Bayer Leverkusen vs Bochum prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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