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

The visitors, meanwhile, can move up to seventh place in the table with a victory at Vonovia-Ruhrstadion.

Match preview

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 an 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 given, with the visitors forcing Koen Casteels into a reasonably modest amount of four saves across the course of the encounter.

However, not for the first time in recent weeks, the Wolves struggled to generate many chances themselves, with Kovac's side failing to score the fourth time in their last nine matches.

Having gone on a six-match winning streak either side of the World Cup, Wolfsburg have only managed to win two of their 11 matches since that excellent run, denting their hopes of competing in Europe next season.

However, both of those did come away from home, suggesting they may fancy themselves in North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday.

VfL Bochum Bundesliga form:

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Wolfsburg Bundesliga form:

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Team News

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.

VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:

Riemann; Osei-Tutu, Gamboa, Ordets, Soares; Osterhage, Masovic, Stoger; Asano, Hofmann, Zoller

Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:

Casteels; Baku, Lacroix, Bornauw, Van De Ven; Gerhardt, Svanberg, F Nmecha; Wimmer, Wind, Kaminski

We say: VfL Bochum 1-1 Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg have been one of the division's leading draw specialists in recent times, and we can envisage Kovac's side earning another hard-earned point away to Bochum this weekend.

The hosts head into the match knowing that avoiding defeat would ensure they stay above the three teams beneath them in the table, so they could be content with a draw themselves.

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