Arminia Bielefeld vs. Bochum: probable line-ups, match stats and LIVE blog!

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Bielefeld are almost certain to spend the winter break in the automatic relegation zone, after winning just one of their 15 Bundesliga matches so far this season. With two fixtures left to play in 2021, Arminia are six points adrift of Augsburg in the relegation play-off spot and effectively have another two to make up on outright safety, given their inferior goal difference. Frank Kramer's side shipped two without reply in an away defeat to Hertha Berlin on Saturday, extending their winless run to four matches. More concerning still, they haven't won in front of their own fans since relegating Schalke on 20 April. Kramer may turn to Bryan Lasme in a bid to avoid taking his team down the same path. The French forward has been deployed as a substitute in his last four, scoring the equaliser against Cologne on Matchday 14.

It wasn't all that long ago that promoted Bochum were flirting with an immediate return to Bundesliga 2. The Ruhr outfit won one of their first seven matches back in the big time, but have taken 16 from a possible 24 points in eight since. Thomas Reis' ensemble followed up wins over Freiburg and Augsburg by holding second-placed Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw at the weekend, climbing into the top half of the Bundesliga standings for the first time in over a decade as a result. In-form striker Sebastian Polter has scored four of his team-high six goals this so far this term in Bochum's last three matches, while Pantovic put away spectacular efforts from halfway against Hoffenheim and Freiburg. Rewarded with a place in the starting line-up for the visit of Dortmund, the former Bayern Munich youth player could continue in the side at the SchücoArena.

Match stats

Armina are the Bundesliga's lowest scorers after 15 rounds of fixtures, despite the best efforts of Fabian Klos and Masaya Okugawa, who have contributed six of the team's 10 goals.

Bielefeld are one of only two teams in this season's Bundesliga still to record a home win (D5, L3).

Kramer's strugglers have won just three of their last 21 Bundesliga matches, beating VfB Stuttgart twice and relegated Schalke.

Prior to this season, Polter had scored nine goals in 64 Bundesliga appearances.

Manuel Riemann boasts the second best save percentage in the division (74.7 percent), keeping a joint league-leading five clean sheets.

Bochum shade the competitive head-to-head with 23 wins to Arminia's 18, but are winless in their last five trips to Bielefeld. There have also been 18 draws between the pair.

Probable line-ups

Bielefeld: Ortega - Brunner, Pieper, Nilsson, Andrade - Prietl (c), Kunze - Lasme, Wimmer, Okugawa - Klos

Out: Czyborra (appendicitis), Laursen (muscular), Vasiliadis (not included)

Doubtful: Fernandes (knock)

Coach: Frank Kramer

Bochum: Riemann - Stafylidis, Masovic, Lampropoulos, Soares - Pantovic, Losilla (c), Rexhbecaj - Antwi-Adjei, Polter, Holtmann

Out: Blum (muscular), Decarli (shoulder), Löwen (not included), Zoller (knee)

Doubtful: Asano (not included)

Coach: Thomas Reis