Bayer Leverkusen take on the visitors Bochum in the round 27 match of German Bundesliga. The match will be played on Friday, March 28th at BayArena (Leverkusen).
Bayer is understandably not as strong as last year. The "Aspirins" rewrote history in the 2023/2024 season. They are no longer "Neverkusen"—their incredible unbeaten run transformed that mocking nickname into the proud "Neverlusen." Xabi Alonso led the team to their first-ever Bundesliga title and added the DFB-Pokal for good measure. But that’s all in the past now. Yes, they added another trophy after the summer break by winning the German Super Cup. They also remain in contention to defend their cup title, especially after eliminating Bayern Munich on their way to the final. However, in the Champions League, they were outclassed by the Bavarians, and their Bundesliga campaign has been less dominant—at one point, they trailed by six points. They did manage to cut the gap with an incredible comeback win over Stuttgart in the last round, but maintaining consistency remains a challenge.
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Bochum lived up to their nickname last season. They scraped together just enough points to secure 16th place (they could have finished 15th, but Union Berlin edged them on goal difference). It seemed like that wouldn’t be enough, as they lost the first leg of the relegation playoff 0-3 at home to Fortuna Düsseldorf. But even their opponents appeared to believe the tie was over, which allowed Bochum to stage a miraculous comeback in Düsseldorf and win on penalties. However, they have failed to build on that survival success this season. Heading into the spring break, Dieter Hecking’s squad had just four wins and 18 points—only Holstein Kiel had fewer. On the bright side, they are only one point behind Heidenheim, and the battle for 16th place will likely come down to these two teams in the final months of the season. Their biggest concern remains a lack of offensive firepower, which has made grinding out results even tougher.
Last season, Bayer won both matches. However, in the fall, they were held to a draw on the relegation candidate’s home turf. Schick and company won’t drop points against such an opponent twice in a row—especially at home. Back the champions to win with a -1.5 goal handicap.
Prediction for the match: Bayer Leverkusen to win with -1.5 handicap.
