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

Werder could move into the top half of the table with a win, while Bochum must avoid defeat if they are to climb outside of the bottom three.

Match preview

Indeed, having put together back-to-back wins against Wolfsburg and Stuttgart, Werder have since been beaten 2-0 by both Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt in their most recent outings.

Die Werderaner were second best throughout their visit to Deutsche Bank Park in the Bundesliga's Saturday night game, with Marco Friedl's own goal after only seven minutes immediately putting them on the back foot. A comeback never looked likely once Randal Kolo Muani had doubled the hosts' lead seven minutes after the break, with the visitors failing to register a single shot on target across the 90 minutes.

However, there is no shame for a newly promoted team losing to two of Germany's Champions League representatives this season, with Ole Werner's side still retaining a highly respectable spot in the table in their first season back in the top flight.

With eight points between themselves and their forthcoming opponents in the relegation play-off spot, Saturday's home match against Bochum provides a perfect opportunity to put any outside fears of relegation to bed for this campaign, with a top half finish in sight for them should they manage to do so.

Bochum, meanwhile, could provide a cautionary tale for Werder, with Die Unabsteigbaren finding their second season in the Bundesliga much tougher than their first.

After finishing 13th - and nine points clear of relegation danger - in their first season back in Germany's top flight for more than a decade, Bochum clearly caught second season syndrome, leading to them opting to sack their former manager Thomas Reis in September having lost each of their opening six matches.

His successor Thomas Letsch has successfully made Vonovia-Ruhrstadion much more of a fortress since taking charge, with his unbeaten record on home territory in the league finally coming to an end with a 2-0 defeat to Freiburg last weekend.

Letsch's side were already 2-0 down to their opponents when Anthony Losilla was given his marching orders for a high tackle just after the hour mark, ending their small hopes of mounting a comeback and maintaining their five-match winning streak at home.

As such, with Stuttgart simultaneously beating FC Koln, Bochum will make the trip to Bremen inside the relegation places on goal difference, but there is plenty of time for them to turn things around.

Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:

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VfL Bochum Bundesliga form:

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VfL Bochum form (all competitions):

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Team News

Werder's injury list has significantly grown in recent weeks, with Tim-Justin Dietrich, Dikenki Salifou and Mitchell Weiser joining Jean-Manuel Mbom and Felix Agu on the sidelines.

Marvin Ducksch and Christian Gross have both been suffering with illness in recent days and are therefore doubts, while Niklas Stark picked up his fifth caution of the season against Frankfurt and will miss out through suspension.

Amos Pieper will almost certainly come into Werner's back line in Stark's absence, while Maximilian Philipp could make his first start for the club since joining on loan from Wolfsburg last month should Ducksch fail to recover in time.

Bochum, meanwhile, will travel without Losilla after his straight red card against Freiburg. The midfielder will be unavailable for two matches, which will likely provide an opportunity for Pierre Kunde to reassert his authority in the engine room.

Simon Zoller, Gerrit Holtmann, Michael Esser and Cristian Gamboa are all definitely ruled out through injury, while Danilo Soares and Kevin Stoger have both been struck down by illness within the past week, too.

Letsch will be desperate to have the duo fit and firing for his side's trip, with Philipp Forster potentially set to replace Zoller in the visitors' attacking midfield role.

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Pavlenka; Pieper, Veljkovic, Friedl; Schmid, Stage, Schmidt, Gruev, Jung; Fullkrug, Philipp

VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:

Riemann; Janko, Ordets, Schlotterbeck, Stafylidis; Kunde, Stoger; Asano, Forster, Antwi-Adjei; Hofmann

We say: Werder Bremen 2-1 VfL Bochum

Neither side will be at full strength due to a combination of injury and suspension issues, but we still expect Werder to edge to victory given Bochum's wretched record on the road this season.

The relegation strugglers have lost 10 of their 11 away games in the Bundesliga, conceding 32 goals and scoring only seven. Having blanked in his last three matches, Niclas Fullkrug will surely sense an opportunity to add to his tally of 13 league goals so far this campaign.

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