Preview: VfL Bochum vs. Hoffenheim - prediction, team news, lineups

Bochum, meanwhile, have lost their last two matches in the Bundesliga and they will require a positive result in order to move outside of the relegation places.

Match preview

After comfortably surviving the threat of relegation in their first campaign in Germany's top flight for more than a decade, Bochum appear to be suffering from a minor case of second season syndrome this time around.

The club made the difficult decision to part ways with Thomas Reis (who has since joined their relegation rivals Schalke 04) in September after losing their first six games of the season, with Thomas Letsch undoubtedly improving results since replacing him.

However, successive defeats to Bayer Leverkusen and Mainz 05 have left Die Unabsteigbaren sitting in the relegation playoff position, albeit Stuttgart are only ahead of them on goal difference. Letsch's side were blown away by a Karim Onisiwo hat-trick as they succumbed to a 5-2 defeat at the MEWA Arena.

Bochum were one of five teams between 13th and 17th to lose last weekend, with the first of those being their forthcoming opponents on Saturday. Indeed, a victory against Hoffenheim would see them move level on points with them, potentially blowing the race to avoid relegation wide open in the process.

Having made a decent enough start to life after leaving Swiss Super League winners FC Zurich to join Hoffenheim last summer, Andre Breitenreiter is under significant pressure to turn results around having seen his side win just one of their last 12 league matches.

While scoring goals does not appear to be a problem for Die Kraichgauer given that they have bagged in each of their last seven games, they have shipped two or more goals in eight of their last 10, falling to defeat in seven of those games.

Their 4-1 defeat at home to Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend was perhaps the nadir of Breitenreiter's reign, even though two late goals from Lars Stindl and Hannes Wolf made the scoreline appear a little harsh after Ihlas Bebou had pulled one back with 10 minutes of normal time remaining.

To make matters worse, Hoffenheim's dismal DFB-Pokal record in recent years was extended for another season after losing 3-1 away to RB Leipzig in midweek, significantly ramping up the pressure on them to gain a positive result in Bochum on Saturday.

VfL Bochum Bundesliga form:

L

W

W

W

L

L

Hoffenheim Bundesliga form:

L

L

L

L

D

L

Hoffenheim form (all competitions):

L

L

L

D

L

L

Team News

Bochum will remain without Cristian Gamboa due to a serious knee injury, while backup goalkeepers Michael Esser and Paul Grave are both sidelined due to muscle and shoulder issues respectively.

Letsch may be pondering a few selection changes after being hammered in Mainz last time out, with Takuma Asano and Christopher Antwi-Adjei providing two options to freshen things up in forward areas.

Hoffenheim, meanwhile, will definitely travel without Jacob Bruun Larsen and Grischa Promel due to groin and ankle issues respectively, while Dennis Geiger, Pavel Kaderabek, Kevin Vogt, Robert Skov and Angelo Stiller are all significant doubts.

Thomas Delaney could make his first start for the club after joining on loan from Borussia Dortmund until the end of the season, having made his debut from the substitutes' bench during his side's defeat to Leipzig on Tuesday. The Denmark midfielder's experience could prove invaluable given Hoffenheim's perilous position.

Stanley Nsoki was sent off for a second bookable offence late on against Marco Rose's side, but he is eligible to face Bochum, with his suspension only applying to DFB-Pokal matches.

VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:

Riemann; Janko, Ordets, Schlotterbeck, Soares; Losilla, Kunde; Asano, Stoger, Antwi-Adjei; Hofmann

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:

Baumann; Kabak, Brooks, Nsoki; Skov, Rudy, Delaney, Angelino; Baumgartner; Bebou, Kramaric

We say: VfL Bochum 1-2 Hoffenheim

Both sides head into this fixture in poor form, with Breitenreiter's job security likely to be at significant risk should his team fall to another defeat on Saturday.

However, Hoffenheim have still been scoring plenty of goals throughout their bad patch of form, while the signing of Delaney could be a massive one given their recent issues in central midfield. We can envisage an away win, but it will be tight.

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