False start for FCH?

The 1st Bundesliga is back! While the ball has been rolling again for several weeks in the two lower German professional leagues, the starting signal will be given in the German upper house this coming weekend. Two teams that had a rather disappointing last season will face each other at the start of the season in the Swabian Ostalb. The bookies’ odds for a Heidenheim vs. Wolfsburg tip see the visitors from Lower Saxony slightly ahead.

We don’t disagree with this assessment, as the Wolves are undoubtedly the stronger team in the upcoming duel. In the previous season, Simonis’s team also won 3-1 at the Schlossberg. Wolfsburg are unbeaten in four games at the Brenz and have won three of those four games. Not least because of this, our Heidenheim vs. Wolfsburg prediction is leaning towards an away win.

However, we are not quite as convinced as the bookmakers that there will be three or more goals in the upcoming match. This is because the previous Bundesliga encounters between the two teams have been rather difficult to watch. The only exception was the visitors’ win at the Brenz in the previous season.

Heidenheim vs. Wolfsburg prediction AI

The Heidenheim vs. Wolfsburg AI prediction confirms our assessment. In contrast to the bookies, BETSiE puts the probability of victory for the visitors at 52.1%, which is approximately 10% higher than the odds offered by the bookmakers.

However, our prediction of a low-scoring game is not supported by the Heidenheim vs. Wolfsburg AI prediction. The AI predicts 2.9 goals for the upcoming game (1.16 xGs for Heidenheim and 1.74 xGs for Wolfsburg).

Heidenheim – Statistics & current form

Even in its third Bundesliga season, the small club from the Swabian Ostalb region remains true to itself. There are therefore no expensive new signings in Frank Schmidt’s squad, and the budget at the Brenz is clearly limited anyway. However, Heidenheim’s cult coach does not have to cope with a sell-off like last year. What’s more, the Swabians don’t have to cope with the unfamiliar double burden of European competition this time around.

Will the Swabians start with a win?

These two points in particular give FCH fans cause for hope. In the previous season, the Brenzstadt team only scored regularly in the Bundesliga again after being eliminated from the Conference League. 

The Thursday games simply took too much out of the Swabians physically and mentally due to the running-intensive nature of the game, and this energy was then lacking in many close Bundesliga matches. This can also be proven by the figures: Heidenheim, which had previously been one of the teams with the most running and the most sprints, suddenly dropped in these categories.

Despite a lack of new signings (apart from Bayern’s Ibrahimovic and two players from their own youth academy), there is still hope that the many “old” signings from last summer will really take off in their second year. It is not uncommon for players to need time to internalize “Schmidt football.” The highly talented technician Leo Scienza, in particular, blossomed late last season, but just in time for the relegation matches.

The playmaker is expected to take another step forward in his development this season. In the DFB Cup against Bahlinger SC, the Brazilian picked up where he left off last season, namely with goals. If Scienza also scores against the Wolves, Heidenheim’s odds against Wolfsburg are in the mid-range for this tip at every bookmaker offering Paysafecard.

Wolfsburg – Statistics & current form

Recently, big-name coaches such as Niko Kovac and Ralph Hasenhüttl have tried their hand at the capricious diva Wolfsburg. But even they were unable to get a grip on the complacency of their highly paid protégés, with the result that the Wolves have once again fallen far short of their own expectations in the last two seasons. That’s why Paul Simonis was brought in as the new coach, with the aim of making everything better – once again.

“Paul who?” many German Bundesliga fans are likely to be asking themselves. The man who led Go Ahead Eagles Deventer to a sensational and surprise cup win in the Netherlands last season is still relatively unknown in this country. Will his lack of Bundesliga experience make itself felt over the course of the season?

Quite possibly, but we believe the Wolves will hold their own in Swabia in our Heidenheim vs. Wolfsburg prediction. If we are correct in our assessment, odds above the two-way line can be claimed for your Betano bonus.

Will Wolfsburg win again at the Brenz?

In any case, word from within the team is that the fun has returned under the Dutchman – despite the tough preparation. This was also evident in the Wolves’ first appearance of the new season. Sure, Hemelingen is only an Oberliga team, but the Lower Saxony side still celebrated a record 9-0 victory in the DFB Cup. So there is currently plenty of enthusiasm and joy in the VfL camp, which often looked listless last season.

Despite his Dutch origins, Simonis does not rely on a classic Dutch 4-3-3 system, but rather a 4-2-3-1 with only one striker. In defense, new signings Zehnter and Souza are expected to help stop the flood of goals conceded last season. After all, 54 goals conceded were too many to make any higher claims.

Heidenheim – Wolfsburg Head-to-head record / H2H record

The two teams have faced each other seven times in total, with the overall record clearly in favor of the Wolves. The Lower Saxony side have won five times, with just one draw and one defeat. The Swabians’ only victory in this fixture came in the second half of last season, when Schmidt’s side won 1-0 at VfL.
Has the spell been broken? Not at home in the Voith Arena, at any rate. The statistics show three defeats and one draw against the Wolfsrudel here. That’s why the betting odds for Heidenheim against Wolfsburg are in favor of Paul Simonis’ team.

Heidenheim – Wolfsburg Tip

Heidenheim played the first Bundesliga match in its club history against VfL Wolfsburg. Little has changed since then. The Wolves remain the favorites in the head-to-head matchup, even if the gap between the two teams has narrowed. In its first Bundesliga season, Heidenheim even finished ahead of the Wolves in a surprise finish.

And in the Swabians’ second Bundesliga season, the Lower Saxons only managed to secure 14 more points. However, Paul Simonis’s men have usually come out on top in direct encounters in recent years. That’s why we’re betting on an away win in our Heidenheim vs. Wolfsburg tip, but are hedging our bets with the two-way market, which still offers good odds for tip 2.

After strong home performances in their debut year, Heidenheim had their wings clipped by their Bundesliga rivals at their home Voith Arena last season. In the new season, Frank Schmidt and his team want to turn the small stadium on the Schlossberg back into a fortress and lay the foundations for survival and a more carefree season.

Nevertheless, Heidenheim is once again considered one of the first candidates for relegation in the new year, especially as two big names, HSV and Cologne, are returning to the Bundesliga. However, anyone who follows 1. FC Heidenheim knows that the Swabians are perfectly comfortable in the role of underdogs and are happy to leave the favourites’ role to the big clubs. That’s why we believe Schmidt’s team can hold their own in the top flight again this season. Nevertheless, we think the Wolves have a slight edge in our Heidenheim vs. Wolfsburg prediction.