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VfL Bochum – VfB Stuttgart
This year’s Easter Sunday is pure relegation battle in the Bundesliga. At 7:30 pm, the basement duel between Hoffenheim and Schalke will take place in Sinsheim (Hoffenheim – Schalke tip). And two hours earlier, a relegation battle will take place at Castroper Straße. VfL Bochum will then welcome the newly crowned semi-finalists in the DFB Cup, VfB Stuttgart. In this duel, only a victory counts for both teams.
Bochum have fully internalised the relegation battle. The VfL has gone three games without defeat in the Bundesliga and thus climbed to 14th place in the table. In the last home game, the Bochum team even beat the top team from Leipzig. On the last matchday, VfL then fought their way to a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The visitors from Stuttgart, meanwhile, now have their fourth coach this season. After the departure of Bruno Labbadia, Sebastian Hoeneß is now expected to turn things around. In his first game as VfB head coach, the former Hoffenheim coach went straight into the cup semi-finals on Wednesday. Stuttgart won 1:0 against 1. FC Nürnberg. Whether Hoeneß will then also celebrate the first VfB victory in the league since mid-February at the weekend, you can find out in our Bochum – Stuttgart tip.
Bochum – Stuttgart info:
– Date & Time: 09.04.2023, 17:30 Uhr
– Venue: Vonovia Ruhrstadion, Bochum
– Competition: Bundesliga, 27th matchday
– TV broadcast: DAZN
Bochum Form & Balance Check
VfL Bochum find themselves in a tense situation as they continue to fight to stay in the relegation zone and brace themselves for a return to the 2. Bundesliga. However, the team led by coach Thomas Letsch has picked up valuable points in recent games, including impressive wins against Cologne and Leipzig.
Last week, Bochum achieved a 1-1 draw in Frankfurt, which allowed the men from Castroper Straße to climb to 14th place in the table. Bochum are now five points ahead of 17th place, which is currently held by Schalke 04. Against VfB Stuttgart, the VfL fans are now hoping for the next big points for their team.
Myth Castroper Straße
Home games often have a special meaning in football and VfL Bochum is no exception. Although the team from the Ruhr region has only picked up seven points away from home in the Bundesliga, they seem almost invincible at home in the Ruhrstadion. Since coach Thomas Letsch took the helm, VfL have only suffered two defeats at Castroper Straße.
Teams like Leipzig, Frankfurt and Union have also lost in Bochum. However, the Bochum defence is anything but stable at the moment, as VfL conceded the most goals in the entire Bundesliga. With 57 goals conceded in 26 games, VfL Bochum is unrivalled in the league in this respect.
Bochum facts & analysis
– Three games in the league without defeat.
– The worst defence in the league
– Four points clear of relegation place
Stuttgart form & balance check
VfB Stuttgart find themselves in the Bundesliga relegation battle again this season. After a poor start with nine games without a win, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo had to take his hat. Under the leadership of interim coach Michael Wimmer, the team initially breathed a sigh of relief and freed itself from the bottom of the table. Since the beginning of the winter break, Bruno Labbadia has been the new coach on the sidelines.
After the 3-0 defeat at Union, however, Labbadia’s chapter in Swabia was already over. Sebastian Hoeneß took over at the beginning of this week. His first official act was to get the team into the semi-finals of the DFB Cup. VfB narrowly won 1:0 against 1. FC Nürnberg on Wednesday. At the weekend, Hoeneß would then like to climb up from last place with Stuttgart.
Waiting for the away win
VfB Stuttgart have struggled on away soil this season, picking up just five points away from home so far. However, Stuttgart have yet to win away from home, making them the only team in the Bundesliga to have failed to do so. Only Hertha BSC is worse in the away table.
The last win away from home was a long time ago: on matchday 15 of last season, VfB celebrated a 2-0 victory in Wolfsburg. To make matters worse, VfL Bochum is one of the strongest teams in the league at home this weekend. The VfB fans will be hoping for a lucky hand from the new coach.
Stuttgart facts & analysis
– Only one Bundesliga win this year.
– Third weakest offence in the league
– Bottom of the league
Predicted lineup – last update on April 8, 2023
VfL Bochum are expected to field a 4-3-1-2 system again. Hofmann will be present up top and interact with his strike partner Christopher Antwi-Adjei. Danilo Soares will return to the starting eleven after serving his yellow suspension the previous week.
Sebastian Hoeneß set up his team in a 3-1-4-2 in his first match. We expect the Swabians to play in this formation on Sunday as well. Vagnoman and Sosa will be the two track players for VfB. Whether Serhou Guirassy will make the starting eleven again is rather unlikely.
Bochum – Stuttgart direct comparison & Statistics
Bochum is mostly without a chance against VfB. VfL have won only 17 of their 77 previous duels with the Swabians. Stuttgart, on the other hand, have already won 40 times against the men from the Ruhr. VfB won the first leg 4:1.
– Bochum have not won any of their last seven matches against VfB Stuttgart.
– Bochum’s last win against Stuttgart in the Bundesliga was on 14.05.2005
– When Bochum lead 1-0 in home games, they win 63% of matches
– Stuttgart still without an away win in this Bundesliga season
