Bochum vs. Gladbach preview: The hosts desperately need a result
Gladbach got back on track with a win against Stuttgart on Friday, while Bochum must start turning losses into draws or else relegation awaits.
VfL Bochum
Bochum will be wearing their special, rainbow kit against Gladbach on Tuesday that stands for tolerance, fairplay, solidarity and equality. Maybe this will be the difference, as the club badly need a bit of hope in what's been a difficult season to say the least thus far.
Luckily, all seven of Bochum's points this campaign have come from their home stomping grounds. Interestingly enough, potentially their best creator offensively, Gerrit Holtmann, has struggled for starts in recent weeks for a team that's only scored 11 goals so far.
Goalkeeper Manuel Riemann leads the league in saves, sitting behind a thin defense that's been under constant pressure all season long. However, Bochum have still allowed a league-worst 35 goals into the back of their net through 13 games.
When asked about his goalkeeper, coach Thomas Letsch stated, "Manuel Riemann will play tomorrow. It's not about always questioning everything immediately. When we conceded the third goal in Dortmund, we made too many mistakes as a whole team, that wasn't just Manu's fault."
Team News
Paul Grave, Jacek Goralski, Erhan Masovic, Dominique Heintz and Takuma Asano are not available. Letsch confirmed that Vasilios Lampropoulos will again start alongside Ivan Ordets in center defense.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Gladbach beat Stuttgart on Matchday 13 with some great goals from several of their stars. Marcus Thuram and Jonas Hofmann are playing some superb football at the moment, while Alassane Plea has especially impressed in recent weeks.
With 8th-place Gladbach pushing for a return to Europe, they must collect three points from games such as this. The back-line is a bit thin, but Nico Elvedi could make the trip to Bochum after recovering from a sickness.
Tobias Sippel will start again for the injured Yann Sommer in goal.
In his press conference, Daniel Farke commented, "We have put in good away performances in Munich and Freiburg, for example, but we've lacked that final punch needed to get the win. We want to change that in Bochum. We will need to be clinical and match them physically."
Team News
Sommer, Stefan Lainer, Ko Itakura, Hannes Wolf and Florian Neuhaus are out. Elvedi and Tony Jantschke are questionable.