Position
VfL Bochum took their time to get going this season. The first victory in the current campaign came on matchday 10 with a 2-1 win against newly promoted Darmstadt 98. The week before saw a clear improvement for VfL with a 2-2 draw against Mainz 05 with the team from Rhineland Hessen equalising very late on. Bochum have picked up twelve of their 16 points to date in the last seven games. Three wins, three draws and only one defeat (a 3-1 loss at TSG Hoffenheim) is the record since the end of October.
In last weekend's 3-0 victory over Union Berlin, Bochum produced an impressive performance over the full 90 minutes as they did two weeks before in a 3-1 win against VfL Wolfsburg. "We were very sharp and aggressive," said coach Thomas Letsch in praise of his team who gave little away and took their own chances. "We played a great game today and it was an absolutely deserved victory from my point of view," said Letsch. Takuma Asano opened the scoring for Bochum just before half-time. A lightning counter-attack at the start of the second half saw Goncalo Paciencia double the lead at 2-0 and Kevin Stöger wrapped it up from the penalty spot on 78 minutes. "Today you could see we worked well as a unit on the pitch and that we definitely wanted to win," said the scorer of the penalty after the perfect end to the year at home. The third victory in the Bundesliga took VfL up to thirteenth in the table and created a gap over other teams looking to stay up. The seven-point cushion to the drop zone has done VfL good and they are now again close to the mid-table in the Bundesliga. They are just three points behind ninth-placed VfL Wolfsburg.
PersonNEl
Thomas Letsch will definitely have to make changes in midfield on Wednesday night as regular starter Kevin Stöger is serving a one-match ban. The Austrian was the outstanding player on the pitch in the 3-0 win against Union Berlin and he provided the assist for the first goal in addition to his own strike. However, he was also shown his fifth yellow card just before the final whistle. Stöger is the best scorer and provider in the team with four goals and three assists so far. He could be replaced in the starting XI by Matus Bero. The ball-winning and hard-running Slovakian, signed from Vitesse Arnhem in the summer, was back in the starting line-up against Wolfsburg for the first time since being sidelined by an injury for two months. "He's a player who doesn't shirk a challenge and he always gives his all for the team," said Letsch. Defender Ivan Ordets will not play for Bochum in Leverkusen as he is ruled out for the rest of this year due to a thigh injury.
Performers
Commitment, competitive spirit, passion, intensity: Those qualities are all part of the Bochum DNA. But Thomas Letsch will not allow his team to just be seen as combative. "Everybody can see we can play football and that's why we produce performances and results like that," said the coach after the 3-0 win against Union Berlin. Striker Takuma Asano has been in outstanding form for weeks. The Japan international is the top scorer for Bochum with five goals and he's played in all 15 league games this term – as has goalkeeper Manuel Riemann, defender Bernardo and midfielder Kevin Stöger.
The Bochum defence has improved significantly in comparison to last season and the start of the current campaign. VfL have only conceded an average of one goal per game since matchday seven.
Amongst the most important players in the team are the captain Anthony Losilla and Cristian Gamboa. Both are indispensable given their wealth of experience and irrepressible commitment. Losilla made league appearance 300 for Bochum against TSG Hoffenheim a week ago and that consists of 77 in the Bundesliga and 223 in the second tier. The 37-year-old midfield enforcer is an indestructible dynamo. The same applies to Gamboa who recently turned 34. The defender from Costa Rica is somebody who "always leads the way," said VfL sporting director Marc Lettau. "He's an absolute model pro who doesn't spare himself and is always in incredible condition in spite of his intensive approach to the game." One stat is also remarkable: No other team in 2023 has a higher number of goals from corners than VfL Bochum.
ProblemS
Last season's goal-getter Philipp Hofmann (nine goals, four assists) was a regular choice up front. However the 1.95 metre forward has not found the back of the net in 14 games this term. With Moritz Broschinski also failing to score, there was a goals drought for VfL in the first 12 Bundesliga matchdays. Only FC Köln had scored fewer goals at that point. Bochum did impress in the last two home games and scored six goals. Goncalo Paciencia (three goals in nine games), on loan from Celta Vigo, is on the up. "His form curve is rising sharply," said Letsch about the former Frankfurt and Schalke player.
Prediction
VfL Bochum have succeeded in opening up a gap to the drop zone. "We didn't start the season well," said Marc Lettau. "But now we have been very stable for a while." The team is on the right track as he declared before the final matchday of the year: "We have just one target and that is staying up."
The absence of playmaker and strategist Kevin Stöger in Leverkusen on Wednesday does not make the task any easier for the Blue Whites. "I would like to play against Bayer 04 as they are currently the best team in Germany," said the 30-year-old. "I hope we can pick up a point somehow in spite of that. I think that would be a big success for us." The sporting director takes a similar position. Someone will have to come up with a good idea. "The coaching staff are working on a solution," said Lettau. It will be interesting to see what that looks like.
