Rewirpower Stadion, Bochum – 26 August 2016, 17:30.
Match Preview and Betting Tips.
Bochum and Hannover will play the derby match of the third round in 2. Bundesliga on Friday afternoon at Rewirpower Stadion. Hannover had a terrible last season in Bundesliga as they ended rock bottomed with eight points less than Stuttgart in the penultimate 17th place. The team scored no more than 31 goals in the entire season which forced the owners to hire former U19 head coach Daniel Stendel as the manager for the new season in 2. Bundesliga.
Bochum played well last season ending in fifth place and their head coach Gertjan Verbeek announced a strong campaign this season determined to reach the Top 2 positions at the end to secure direct promotion to Bundesliga next season. The team opened the new season with a 2 – 1 home win over Union Berlin in the opening round thanks to goals from the defender Bastians and striker Weilandt. The second round saw a 1 – 1 draw at Karlsruher in a pretty boring match with very few goal scoring opportunities. Bochum experienced a catastrophe last week losing to half professional team Astoria Walldorf in the DFB Pokal which will surely affect the mood within the squad.
Hannover on the other side seem to have quickly forgotten about the awful last season, as they celebrated two commanding victories at the start of the new one. Artur Sobiech scored a brace in a 0 – 4 win over Kaiserslautern in the opening round, while new acquisitions Maier and Harnik were both on target in the home victory over Greuther Furth in the second round. Harnik also scored a goal in last week’s win over Kickers Offenbach in DFB Pokal.
Both teams are playing attacking football at the start of the new season, especially Hannover whose strikers are playing phenomenal and there is no doubt they will be able to score against Bochum’s vulnerable defensive line. The best betting pick you can take for this match is both teams to score at the odds of 3/5.
MATCH PREVIEW
Bochum were very good in spells away to Karlsruher on Matchday 2, returning home with a respectable 1-1 draw. However, they undid all that hard work in the first round of the DFB Cup last Sunday, playing with a complacent attitude against fourth-division side FC Astoria Walldorf and deservedly losing 4-3 after extra time.
Coach Gertjan Verbeek has promised that his charges will show a reaction here, and the players will be keen to make amends on home turf. There are encouraging signs that they will do so: Bochum won their opening game of the season on their own ground, and were tough to beat at the Ruhrstadion last season (W7 D7 L3).
Hannover's fine start to the campaign continued on Matchday 2 with a 3-1 home win against Greuther Furth. The scoreline was somewhat flattering to the hosts, but they took their chances well and have now scored seven goals in their first two league outings.
Coach Daniel Stendel's men stuttered in the DFB Cup first round, however, throwing away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 against regional league side Kickers Offenbach after 90 minutes, before eventually winning 3-2 after extra-time. They will no doubt also be eager to show their true colours on Friday.
The visitors have the stronger squad but Bochum is a tough place to go to and win, so am backing a draw in this one.
HEAD TO HEAD
These two have only met eight times (three wins for Bochum, two for Hannover) in the 2. Bundesliga, with the most recent of those meetings back in 2002. Since then, Bochum won six times in the Bundesliga, drawing three and losing five.
