VFB Stuttgart vs VFL Bochum 1848 Prediction: Stuttgart to have a bright start

VFB Stuttgart and Bochum will go to battle on the opening day of the Bundesliga 23/24 season. Both clubs have had time to prepare for the new season and they will be hoping to start the season with a good record.

VFB Stuttgart escaped the drop into the relegation zone last season, as they ended the season in 16th place with 33 points from 34 matches, and just 2 points more than 17th place Schalke 04. They had a total of 7 wins, 10 draws and 17 defeats in that season and they scored 45 goals and conceded 57 goals.

VFL Bochum ended in 14th place with 35 points from 34 matches. They recorded a total of 10 wins, 5 draws and 19 defeats, while scoring 40 goals and conceding 72 goals in that season.

VFB Stuttgart are excited to remain in the German Bundesliga after winning the relegation battle at the end of last season. Now they will be hoping for a better experience this season and it all begins against Bochum here.

VFB Stuttgart played 5 games during preseason to prepare for the new season and they had 4 wins and 1 defeat during that time. They started off with a 4-0 win over Reutlingen, and then they defeated Vitesse 2-1. Then they lost 5-1 against M’gladbach before ending with back-to-back wins against 1860 Munchen (2-0) and Sheffield United (3-0).

Most recently they played in the Round 1 of the DFB Pokal against TSG Balingen, and they won the game 4-0 at full time. Enzo Millot, Silas Katompa Mvumpa and Serhou Giurassy all scored in the first half of the game and then in the 55th minute Wataru Endo scored the 4th goal for VFB Stuttgart. Serhou Guirassy put in a brilliant display in the game scoring 1 goal and providing 1 assist.

VFB Stuttgart added into their squad during the transfer window with Deniz Undav, Alexander Nubel and Jamie Leweling among the players that joined the club. Also Juan Jose Perea, Omer Faruk Beyaz and Wahid Faghir were also a few of those that left the club to ply their trade in other clubs.

Streaks: wins (3), no goals conceded (3), more than 2.5 goals (7/8), first to score (5/6), first half winner (5/6), less than 4.5 cards (6/6).

VFL Bochum’s first test in the new season is away at Stuttgart and they will be eager to grab a win in this season’s opener. They have had a rough break and their preseason results were really poor. It is yet to be understood what the club will change to get a positive result in the new season. Bochum played 6 games during preseason and they had 2 wins and 4 defeats. They started off with a big 9-0 win against Emden and then they lost 4 games in a row against Verl (3-1), Fortuna (3-1), Spezia (4-3), Parma (1-0). Then they won their final preseason game against Luton (2-1).

Their last game was the Round 1 of the DFB Pokal and they were up against Arminia Bielefeld and they played a 2-2 draw in full time, before going on to lose 4-1 on penalties. Arminia Bielefeld had a 2 goal advantage in the first half from Nicklas Shipnoski and Merveille Biankadi before Bochum pulled one back in the 47th minute through Takuma Asano’s effort. VFB Stuttgart finally grabbed a late goal through Simon Zoller in the 91st minute to drag the game to extra time and finally penalties.

VFL Bochum added a few players to their ranks during the transfer window. Among those were Bernardo, Niclas Thiede and Matus Bero. While Jacek Goralski, Gerrit Holtmann and Vasilis Lampropoulos are among those who left the club during the window.

Streaks: without a clean sheet (7), more than 2.5 goals (7/8), both teams scoring (6/7), less than 4.5 cards (7/7), less than 10.5 corners (5/5)

VFB Stuttgart and VFL Bochum have played 20 matches against each other prior to this game. VFB Stuttgart had 11 wins, while VFL Bochum won 2 matches and 7 matches ended in a draw.

• VFB Stuttgart have not lost in the last 9 matches
• Both teams have not kept a clean sheet in the last 3 matches
• Both teams scored against each other in the last 6/8 matches.
• VFB Stuttgart scored first in 5/6 matches
• There were less than 10.5 corners in 5/6 matches.

It's still a new season and a lot can happen at the beginning of the season but these sides have had a lot of time to prepare and decide how to line up for the new season. VFB Stuttgart at the moment, look more prepared for the season than Bochum. Bochum will take some time to find some form and playing away from home here does not help them either. I expect Stuttgart to go out searching for goals and picking up a few goals in the process.

• Home Win FT at 1.69 Odds
• Home Over 1.5 Goals at 1.61 Odds
• Stuttgart to Score in First Half at 2.10 Odds