Relegation-threatened VfL Bochum welcome Heidenheim to Vonovia Ruhrstadion in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts are winless in six consecutive matches heading into this match, while the visitors ended a six-game winless run in their last match.
Match preview
Bochum lost 2-1 to FC Koln last time out, stretching their winless run to six matches, drawing one and losing five of those games.
The defeat was particularly painful as they conceded two goals in the 90th and 92nd minutes after taking the lead through Felix Passlack in the 53rd minute.
This result led to the sacking of manager Thomas Letsch, with the club yet to name a replacement. Bochum sit 15th in the Bundesliga table with 26 points, just three points above Mainz in the relegation playoff spot and four above Koln, who are currently the first side in the bottom two.
Despite picking up 19 of their 26 points at home this season, they have lost twice and drawn once at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion since their famous 3-2 win over Bayern Munich.
A fresh start under a new manager could inspire them to victory on Saturday in what will be only their second Bundesliga meeting with Heidenheim. The reverse fixture in November ended in a goalless draw, and another stalemate would not be ideal for Die Blauen, with relegation rivals closing the gap.
Heidenheim have enjoyed a solid debut top-flight campaign and are almost guaranteed to stay in the Bundesliga next season. They even harbour hopes of reaching Europe, sitting nine points behind Eintracht Frankfurt in the sixth and final European qualification spot.
Last time out, Frank Schmidt's side ended a six-game winless run and boosted their European hopes with a remarkable 3-2 comeback victory over Bayern Munich.
Trailing by two goals at half time, Heidenheim fought back with two goals in a minute through Kevin Sessa and Tim Kleindienst before the latter grabbed the winner in the 79th minute.
To reach the Europa Conference League, Schmidt's men will need a strong run in their remaining six matches, starting with the trip to Bochum on Saturday.
Team News
Bochum have a long injury list heading into Saturday's clash, with up to eight players sidelined as a result of different injuries.
Kevin Stoger and Danilo Soares are dealing with muscle issues, while Mohammed Tolba and Moritz Kwarteng are out with ACL and MCL injuries, respectively.
Goncalo Paciencia (groin), Tim Oermann (hamstring), Niclas Thiede (broken finger) and Michael Esser (knee) are all sidelined as well.
Nikola Dovedan was sent off against Stuttgart's and remains suspended for Heidenheim heading into this fixture.
Norman Theuerkauf could miss the game through illness, while Thomas Keller (ACL) and Elidon Qenaj (knee) are injured.
Kleindienst took his tally to 11 goals after the brace against Bayern and will look to add more when he leads the line once again.
VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Riemann; Passlack, Masovic, Schlotterbeck, Bernardo; Losilla, Osterhage, Daschner; Broschinski, Hofmann, Bero
Heidenheim possible starting lineup:
Muller; Traore, Mainka, Gimber, Fohrenbach; Schoppner, Theuerkauf, Pieringer; Dinkci, Kleindienst, Beste
We say: VfL Bochum 1-2 Heidenheim
Bochum's winless run and managerial uncertainty collide with a confident Heidenheim. Home advantage could see Bochum fight, but the visitors boast momentum. We expect a close match, with Heidenheim edging it due to their recent confidence-boosting victory over Bayern.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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