Quote from: pawel7777 on Today at 10:20:26 PM

Quote from: Abu-Naim on Today at 09:42:22 PM

Predicting this match will be difficult, both teams will take the match very serious for their personal reason; Leverkusen will be serious to win the match because they want to keep mounting pressure on Bayern Munich in the title race, while Bochum will want to win so as to leave the relegation zone.

I'm not sure if Leverkusen still have faith in their ability to defend the championship with 6-point gap and only 8 games to go. But Bayern's recent failures against weak teams might have sparked some extra hopes and motivation.
Leverkusen is obviously a big favourite against Bochum, with odds of x1.25, but it's hard to write Bochum off given they defeated Bayern 3-2 only 2 weeks ago (red card for Bayern in the 42nd minute played a big part though). Can they do it again against Leverkusen? I doubt it. Both teams will be motivated, but Leverkusen is simply a level above.

A mediocre team under great pressure can sometimes perform beyond expectations. Bochum is an easy opponent for Leverkusen in theory, people can easily predict the match result. Xabi Alonso chances of leading his team to secure full points are clearly higher, especially since the match will take place at BayArena. I don't think Bochum luck will repeat, unless Leverkusen plays very poorly throughout the match.

Anything can happen in the remaining 8 matches of this season, the situation can change quickly. Leverkusen only needs to focus on maintaining consistent performance. Leverkusen chances of retaining the trophy are indeed low, especially if Bayern Munich can also maintain the point difference between them. However, Leverkusen must remain optimistic until Bayern Munich has truly lock the trophy.