Bayer Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2022-08-19 13:30.
The BayArena was stunned into silence last time out as Bayer Leverkusen recorded their second defeat in as many Bundesliga games to open the season as they lost 2-1 to Augsburg. To put this woeful start in perspective, this is the first time in Leverkusen’s history that they’ve opened a season with three consecutive competitive defeats, though they did lose three straight Bundesliga games to open 2018/19.
Matching that unwanted club record wouldn’t be the end of the world for Leverkusen, as they did end up recovering to finish fourth in that campaign. Extra finishing drills will likely have been the order of the day for Leverkusen in midweek though, as their shocking return of one goal from 32 attempts (3% conversion rate), represents an unsurprising Bundesliga low.
Falling to a 2-0 deficit against Bochum last weekend within the opening 13 minutes wasn’t ideal for Hoffenheim, yet they did the unthinkable and won the game 3-2, recording only their fifth ever Bundesliga victory from such a position. That result earned André Breitenreiter his first points in the Hoffenheim dugout, but with the team that scored first losing both of Hoffenheim’s league games this term, Breitenreiter is unlikely to get carried away if his side register a strong start in this game.
The visitors can look at Augsburg with envy as history suggests that winning at Leverkusen will not be easy. Only ten-time consecutive champions Bayern Munich have defeated Hoffenheim more often in the Bundesliga than Leverkusen’s 16 wins (D6, L6). Compounding matters further is the fact Hoffenheim boss Breitenreiter is yet to defeat Leverkusen after seven personal encounters against them with three different clubs (D4, L3), though both teams scored in all but one of those meetings.
Players to watch: Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick has only scored more goals against Fürth than he has against Hoffenheim during his career (G4, A3). As for Hoffenheim, impact player Mu'nas Dabbur scored an 88’ winner last time out. His goal prior to that also came as a substitute and was a late equaliser against none other than Leverkusen (2-2).
Hot stat: Hoffenheim have failed to win ten of their last 12 Bundesliga games entered as pre-match outsiders (W2, D3, L7).