Bayer Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim Odds & Prediction – Bundesliga Matchday 16

• Bayer Leverkusen host Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga’s 16th Matchday on Wednesday, December 15th, at 2:30 pm ET
• Currently, Bayer Leverkusen sit in third place on 27 points, while Hoffenheim trail them on 26 points in fourth place
• Get the odds, our analysis, and betting prediction below

Matchday 16 in the Bundesliga features what should be a fascinating matchup between Bayer Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim. The match between the Bundesliga’s third and fourth place sides kicks off Wednesday afternoon at the BayArena. So far this season, Bayer Leverkusen have a 4-0-3 record at their home ground, while Hoffenheim are 3-1-4 as visitors.

This match comes at a peculiar time for both sides, as they seem to be at a crossroads in form. After a sparkling start to their campaign, Bayer Leverkusen hit the rocks in October, only to peak again with four straight wins coming out of late November.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim Odds

Odds as of Dec 13th at Barstool Sportsbook

However, the last two matches for Die Werkself have been vastly disappointing. First, Gerardo Seoane’s side lost to Ferencvaros in the Europa League, in a match that was rather unimportant considering their finish in the group. But, a 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend left a sour taste in the mouths of supporters.

Hoffenheim Are Not a Team to Count Out

Conversely, after a slow start to the season, Hoffenheim have significantly picked up form. In their last seven matches across all competitions, Sebastian Hoeneß’s side has only lost once, to tenth place side, VfL Bochum. Recent wins against RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Freiburg should give them loads of confidence going into Wednesday’s match versus Leverkusen.

In all of those significant victories, it would have been easy to write Hoffenheim off. They have struggled in the Bundesliga in the past couple of years, finishing in both eleventh and sixth place. While seeing them challenge for Germany’s top four might be surprising, their statistics do all the talking.

#SCFTSG was a game to remember for @TSGHoffenheimEN and @USMNT defender @EastMamba! 🇺🇸https://t.co/D5IxSnFjtb

— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) December 13, 2021

While Leverkusen have their standout talent in Patrick Schick, Hoffenheim are a much more balanced side. Nonetheless, if you have pick some areas of strength, the left side beams talent.

David Raum dominates the left side and really connects the defense and attack. In fact, his goal and assist against Freiburg were paramount to Hoffenheim securing three points. The 23 year-old German is also in the 98th percentile of European fullbacks for assists per 90 minutes.

David #Raum ('98)🇩🇪 vs Freiburg:

⚽️1 goal
🤝1 assist
♟️4 key passes
🛎️4/8 crosses delivered
🤹2/2 dribbles
✈️3/5 aerial duels won
🗑️2 clearances
⚠️4 tackles

Not bad for a full-back.🕵️ pic.twitter.com/SFSpUhqCFv

— The Underrated Scout (@ScoutUnderrated) December 11, 2021

Ahead of him is Andrej Kramaric, who already has nine goal contributions in the Bundesliga this season. Now, who will be sitting out of this match for Bayer Levekusen? Coincidentally, Jeremie Frimpong will be absent for this match due to injury. Frimpong is Leverkusen’s star right-back, which means that his absence creates a glaring point of exploitation for Hoffenheim.

Patrick Schick Is Simply Unplayable Right now

Regardless, this match is not all about Hoffenheim and their surprising form as of late. Bayer Leverkusen are still ahead of them in the table, and they have a couple of fantastic players to mention as well. The first of which being of course, Patrick Schick.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim Bundesliga Statistics

Fans around the world learned Schick’s name this summer at the Euro 2020 tournament, where the Czech born attacker poured in five goals in as many games. Somehow, someway, Schick has continued to improve his stats on the club level.

⚽️ 49'
⚽️ 69'
⚽️ 74'
⚽️ 76'

Patrick Schick has 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 & Bayer Leverkusen have 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 against Greuther Furth 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vBHjicptNH

— LiveScore (@livescore) December 4, 2021

Actually, the 25 year-old leads the Bundesliga Golden Boot race with an astounding 14 goals. The feat becomes even more incredible when you find out he has only played in 12 matches. Recently, he is on a flyer of form as well, scoring six in his last two matches.

Truly, Schick seems like he could be a world-class attacker. His mark of 0.62 non-penalty expected goals per 90, puts him amongst the very best strikers in all of Europe. Furthermore, with Florian Wirtz and Moussa Diaby playing alongside him, Bayer Leverkusen becomes an increasingly difficult side to defend.

Finally, in terms of head-to-head results, Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim have played eleven times in the past five years. In those games, Hoffenheim has a slight edge with a 5-4-2 record. However, their last win away at the BayArena was nearly three years ago.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim Best Bet

Overall, the best bet for this match is Hoffenheim to cover the +0.5 spread with odds of +102. This bet has really good value and while it might be difficult for Hoffenheim to win, I think a draw is more than feasible given their current form.

Pick: Hoffenheim +0.5 (+102)