Looking to make sure of their first-tier status next season, VfL Bochum will welcome German champions Bayer Leverkusen to Vonovia Ruhrstadion on Sunday night in the Bundesliga.
Die Blauen came out on the winning side of a seven-goal thriller with Union Berlin last time out, whilst Leverkusen were last in action on the continent, securing a place in the Europa League final.
Match preview
Following an eight-game winless run in the Bundesliga which seriously dented their chances of surviving the drop, VfL Bochum have recorded back-to-back victories for the first time this season to move slightly away from trouble at the wrong end of the division.
A brace from Maximilian Wittek and a strike from Keven Schlotterbeck had Die Blauen three goals ahead in the capital last weekend versus Union Berlin, and despite a spirited second-half comeback from Nenad Bjelica's men, Philipp Hofmann's fourth of the league term ultimately made sure of maximum points.
Six points from an available six in the last two games have been Bochum rise to 14th place in the Bundesliga standings, meaning that they possess a four-point buffer over 16th-placed Mainz 05 heading into the final two matches of an enthralling top-flight campaign.
Although they head into Sunday's matchup with the Bundesliga champions as major underdogs, Bochum will use their home record as a source of cautious optimism for the contest, with this weekend's hosts losing just three of their 16 home league matches in 2023-24.
Joining from Die Blauen's relegation rivals Mainz 05 during the summer of 2022, Kevin Stoger has been a key man in Bochum's stay in the top flight, with the Austrian scoring seven goals and providing eight assists in the Bundesliga this term.
Bayer Leverkusen pulled another rabbit out of the hat to avoid a first defeat of the season on Thursday night, when the Bundesliga champions secured their place in the final of the Europa League in Dublin later this month versus Atalanta BC by drawing with Roma in the second leg of the semi-final.
Leverkusen had their two-goal advantage from an exceptional night's work at Stadio Olimpico wiped out when a set of Leandro Paredes penalties had the Italian level in the tie once again, but the Germans fought back as they have on countless times this campaign, with a Gianluca Mancini own goal and Josip Stanisic's added-time equaliser restoring parity in the second leg.
Since their Bundesliga supremacy was sealed with a 5-0 crushing of Werder Bremen at BayArena on April 14, Xabi Alonso's have only won one of their last three league contests, although they did manage a 5-1 hammering of Europe-chasing Eintracht Frankfurt last Sunday.
Heading into the final two games of the first-tier season, Leverkusen sit pretty at the summit of the league standings, 14 points ahead of second-placed Stuttgart who are embroiled in a race with perennial champions Bayern Munich for the silver medal in the Bundesliga.
Alonso's side will be desperately keen to avoid a repeat of last season's trip to Vonovia Ruhrstadion, where goals from Philipp Forster, Takuma Asano and Stoger sealed a three-goal victory for Bochum.
Team News
Bochum will be unable to call upon the services of left-back Danilo Soares, who is expected to miss the remainder of the term due to a muscle injury.
The hosts are also light of options in the centre of their defence, with youngster Mohammed Tolba sidelined with a serious cruciate ligament injury.
Die Blauen are short in the goalkeeping department due to the absence of Niclas Thiede, who broke his finger at the beginning of March.
After a nine-minute cameo in the draw with Roma, Florian Wirtz was reported to have sustained a thigh injury which will potentially keep him out for the term.
As a result, the likes of Jonas Hofmann and Adam Hlozek are more likely to retain their spots in the side, with Patrik Schick pushing for a start after sitting on the bench for the majority of Thursday's matchup.
VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Riemann; Passlack, Ordets, Schlotterbeck, Bernardo; Osterhage, Bero; Broschinski, Stoger, Wittek; Hofmann
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Palacios, Andrich, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Hlozek; Boniface
We say: VfL Bochum 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Following back-to-back wins, Bochum will be entering Sunday's clash knowing that anything against the Bundesliga champions will be a bonus.
Bayer Leverkusen are two matches away from an invincible league campaign, and we reckon that Alonso's troops will get half the job done this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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