Frankfurt Vs VFL Bochum Preview
Watch Frankfurt vs VFL Bochum Preview, as Frankfurt hopes for the champions league by closing the gap in the points table by having victory against Bochum at Commerzbank on Friday night.
On other hand Bochum will move to 13th in the table if they have the victory over the match.
Frankfurt vs Bochum preview
Frankfurt failed to win any of their last six matches in all competitions prior to the recent international break, Frankfurt have lost ground on the likes of Union Berlin, Freiburg and RB Leipzig in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Oliver Glasner‘s side were comprehensively dumped out of Europe’s elite competition by runaway Serie A leaders Napoli, as they fell to a 5-0 defeat on aggregate in their first ever knockout tie in the modern version of the competition.
Glasner may be relieved to see his side return to action at Deutsche Bank Park this week, with two crucial fixtures against Bochum and Union Berlin in the Bundesliga and quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal respectively potentially set to shape the remainder of Frankfurt’s campaign.
With only nine league games of the season left to play, Die Adler cannot afford to drop any more unnecessary points if they are to close the gap on the top four positions, starting with the visit of a relegation-threatened team on Friday evening.
However, Thomas Letsch’s side will clearly be no pushovers, especially having moved themselves four points clear of the relegation places with two successive victories prior to the international break, including only their second away win of the season at FC Koln.
That rare victory on the road was backed up by an even more impressive 1-0 win against Leipzig at Vonovia-Ruhrstadion, where Die Unabsteigbaren have prevailed six times in eight matches since Letsch was appointed as manager last September.
Bochum appeared to be almost dead and buried prior to the former Vitesse Arnhem boss being drafted in, having collected only one point from their opening seven games, as Letsch’s predecessor Thomas Reis – who has since joined relegation rivals Schalke 04 – seemingly succumbing to second season syndrome following their promotion in 2021.
With a healthy gap in front of the four teams beneath them in the table, which includes rock-bottom Stuttgart who visit Vonovia-Ruhrstadion next weekend, Bochum look set to have enough about them to survive almost regardless of their result on Friday.
Team news and Injury
Frankfurt will be without Tuta after the defender picked up a one-match suspension due to receiving his fifth booking of the season against Union Berlin, with Kristijan Jakic set to be drafted into a central defensive role.
Jesper Lindstrom and Almamy Toure are unlikely to return to action until late April due to ankle and hip injuries respectively, with club captain Sebastian Rode likely to earn a start in midfield in order to allow Daichi Kamada to operate between the lines.
Bochum, meanwhile, will travel without Danilo Soares due to suspension, after the full-back was cautioned for the fifth time in the Bundesliga this season during the victory against Leipzig. Konstantinos Stafylidis is expected to switch over to his natural left-back role, with Jordi Osei-Tutu coming into the side at right-back.
Cristian Gamboa is approaching his return from a serious knee injury, but the right-back will almost certainly be eased into first-team action from the substitutes’ bench whenever Letsch deems the Costa Rica international ready to do so.
Frankfurt vs Bochum head to head stat
The two teams have crossed paths 70 times across competitions since 1971, with Frankfurt leading 29-26.
Frankfurt have won their last five home games against Bochum, scoring at least twice.
Frankfurt have won eight of their last ten home matches against Bochum across competitions.
Bochum have lost four of their five away games in 2023 and failed to score in three.
Frankfurt have won four of their last five Bundesliga home games, keeping three clean sheets.
Bochum have the worst defensive record in the Bundesliga this season, conceding 56 goals in 25 games. They also have the second-worst attacking record, scoring 27 goals.
Frankfurt have outscored Bochum 46-27 in the league, which is the fourth-best attacking record in the Bundesliga..
Bochum have picked up 25 Bundesliga wins against Frankfurt, more than any other team in the competition. They have also kept most clean sheets in the Bundesliga (20) against Frankfurt.
Frankfurt vs Bochum Prediction
Frankfurt have lost just once at home against Bochum this century but have failed to score in their last two games.
Bochum have had back-to-back wins but have failed to score in three of their last five trips to Frankfurt. Nonetheless, with players from both teams fresh off international commitments, a low-scoring draw could ensue.
