Bochum vs Wolfsburg preview
Watch Bochum vs Wolfsburg preview as they meet on the Bundesliga premises as Bochum will be trying to keep themselves out of the relegation zone, while Wolfsburg will be aiming for better position in the premier league.
Having suffered a huge disappointment by falling to a 3-2 defeat to relegation rivals Stuttgart in their previous match, Bochum displayed their tremendous spirit by bouncing back with a 1-1 draw away to Champions League qualification contenders Union Berlin last time out.
Thomas Letsch‘s team are proving to be a thorn in the side of some of the Bundesliga’s stronger outfits, having beaten RB Leipzig and taken a point from their trip to face Eintracht Frankfurt either side of the recent international break.
Die Unabsteigbaren may feel that they should have returned from Germany’s capital with all three points as opposed to one, though, given that the hosts played the last half-hour of the match with one man fewer after Paul Jaeckel’s dismissal for a second bookable offence.
Despite dominating possession and the shot count, though, Bochum could not build on Kevin Stoger’s dispatched penalty to give themselves more breathing space ahead of the bottom three. As such, they require at least a point on Saturday to be assured of staying outside of the relegation places for another weekend.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, ended Bayer Leverkusen’s five-match winning streak in the Bundesliga by holding Xabi Alonso’s side to a goalless draw at the Volkswagen Arena last weekend.
Niko Kovac changed to a back five in order to match up against their dangerous opponents, and it was a tactic that clearly worked in that regard, with the visitors forcing Koen Casteels into a reasonably modest amount of four saves across the course of the encounter.
Team news and Injury
Bochum will be without Keven Schlotterbeck and Marko Johansson this weekend due to muscular injuries, while Konstantinos Stafylidis is expected to miss out through illness.
Cristian Gamboa made his long-awaited comeback from a serious injury to appear from the bench at Union Berlin last time out, and Letsch may be tempted to throw the Costa Rica defender back into his starting XI given Schlotterbeck’s injury.
Likewise, Simon Zoller is nearing full match fitness after being eased into action across recent weeks, and he could be in line to start given the importance of every match for Bochum between now and the end of the season.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, will travel without Kevin Paredes, Paulo Otavio, Lukas Nmecha and Bartol Franjic due to injury, while Kilian Fischer is expected to remain at home due to illness.
Ridle Baku will likely replace Otavio at full-back, with Micky van de Ven potentially asked to play a more defensive role at left-back, while Patrick Wimmer is in line to return to the visitors’ starting XI should Kovac return to his usual back four.
Bochum vs Wolfsburg Head-to-head Stats
Wolfsburg hold a slight upper hand in the history of this fixture, claiming nine wins from the last 20 meetings between the sides.
Bochum have picked up one fewer win in that run, while the spoils have been shared on three occasions.
Wolfsburg are unbeaten in six of their last seven league games against Bochum, claiming four wins and two draws since April 2008.
Letsch’s men are on a run of four defeats in their last five home games across all competitions since the first week of February.
Wolfsburg boast the league’s fourth-best record away from home, having picked up 21 points from their 14 away games so far.
Bochum vs Wolfsburg Prediction
Bochum and Wolfsburg have struggled to grind out results in recent weeks and head into Saturday in search of a morale-boosting result. However, Letsch’s side are unbeaten in their last five home games against Wolfsburg and we predict they will do just enough to leave with a point this weekend.
