Bayern Munich are set to travel to Bochum on Sunday, 27 October as the Bundesliga leaders look to bounce back following a bruising defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League.
Bayern have started the season reasonably well under Vincent Kompany but there are concerns emerging about how his side are performing in big matches.
Their opponents on Sunday, VFL Bochum, have had a dismal season so far and are rock bottom of the league table after picking up just one point from their first seven matches.
How the bookies view it: Bayern are huge favourites
This is about as big of a mismatch as you are going to get in the Bundesliga so it's not surprise that Bayern Munich have been priced as the overwhelming favourites. Betfred have priced an away win as short as 1/8 while a win for VFL Bochum has been priced at 14/1. The draw, which would be a shocking result for the visitors, has been priced at 9/1.
Recent head-to-head: Recent joy for Bochum
While it will come as no surprise to learn that Bayern Munich have the better of the overall head-to-head, VFL Bochum have recorded two victories over Bayern in the last two years which will give them some confidence ahead of kick-off. They won the most recent clash between the two clubs, recording a stunning 3-2 victory in February.
Players to watch: The return of Musiala
Jamal Musiala was only fit enough to make a cameo off the bench against Barcelona in the week but that appearance suggests that he should now be ready to be trusted from the off against Bochum.
Since picking up a hip injury at the start of the month, Bayern have played three matches without the 21-year-old available from the start and they have only won one of them. If that doesn't illustrate just how important he is to this team and Vincent Kompany then nothing will so the Belgian will be desperate to get him back into the starting XI.
So far this season, Musiala has scored three goals and provided two assists in eight starts across all competitions. His connection with Harry Kane is continuing to grow while he is also building a connection with new singing, Michael Olise.
This is a fixture for Bayern to flex their muscles and Musiala will be at the forefront of it.
Predicted line-ups
VFL Bochum are set to be without Myron Boadu, Matus Bero and Bernardo due to injury while Felix Passlack is also a doubt with illness. Bayern Munich will welcome back Jamal Musiala but will be without Aleksandar Pavlovic, Sacha Boey, Josip Stanic and Hiroki Ito.
VFL Bochum: Drewes – Passlack, Medic, Ordets, Wittek – Sissoko, Losilla – Broschinski, Wit, Kwarteng – Hofmann
Bayern Munich: Neuer – Laimer, Upamecano, Min-Jae, Davies – Palhinha, Kimmich – Olise, Musiala, Coman – Kane
Anything else catch the eye?
While Bayern Munich have been very leaky against strong opposition this season, they have themselves been extremely prolific against ‘lesser' sides. Bayern have scored 13 goals in three matches against teams in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table and are priced at 6/5 to score over 3.5 goals on Sunday.
This German Bundesliga match between VfL Bochum 1848 and Bayern Munich will be played on Oct 27, 2024 and kick off at 14:30. Check below for our tipsters best VfL Bochum 1848 vs Bayern Munich prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
