Football Bet of the Day: Back Bochum to sock 'em

We kick off the week in Germany, and Kev's opposing one of the main promotion contenders.

Northern giants to fall short

Bochum v Hamburg
Monday 03 February, 19:30
Live on BT Sport 1

Portuguese pain for Tobias last night, as Boavista did their bit for his BTTS bet, but Guimaraes slacked off in a 2-0 defeat. Still a positive week though, with 4/7 winners.

We start our latest stint in Germany's Ruhr, the industrial heartland of the country. When we think of that region football-wise, we think of Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, but Bochum have a proud history too, and they'll face high-flying Hamburg in Bundesliga 2 this evening.

Bochum are in the bottom three, but their home form is just about keeping them afloat. Their recent 3-2 reverse against Jahn Regensburg was their first home defeat of the entire season, and before that they had put together a run of 14 home matches unbeaten in the league.

Hamburg hammered Nurnberg 4-1 last weekend, but their overall form is poor, and they are in danger of blowing their promotion push for the second season running. Dieter Hecking's HSV have won just two of their last eight league games, and their away form is atrocious for a promotion contender. They haven't won any of their last eight away games in the second tier, a run that stretches back to late August.

Bochum are a tough side to beat at home, they are fully motivated by the need for survival, and Hamburg's road form is dreadful. I'll lay the visitors here at 1.84.