Eintracht Frankfurt will look to get their battle for the top four back on track when they welcome VfL Bochum to Deutsche-Bank Park in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Dino Toppmoller's side finished 2023 with a whimper but have shown improvement since the winter break, even if there is still a huge gap to make up between themselves and fourth.
Match preview
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Despite making the headlines with an extraordinary 5-1 win over Bayern Munich, that was Frankfurt's only win in their final eight games of 2023.
That saw them fall a long way off the pace for the top four, crash out of the DFB-Pokal to third-tier Saarbrucken, and fail to top their Europa Conference League group.
Since the return of the Bundesliga in 2024, they have improved somewhat, beating RB Leipzig and Mainz already, but they will have been disappointed at squandering two points in the final minute against bottom-of-the-table Darmstadt.
Last weekend saw Toppmoller's men suffer their first defeat of the New Year, as Niels Nkounkou's red card proved costly in a 2-0 loss at Koln.
It leaves Frankfurt six points adrift of Borussia Dortmund, who currently hold the final Champions League spot, but they are at least still in the top six, which will guarantee European qualification next season.
Freiburg's poor run of form to start the year has ensured that, but they remain only three points back, and the two sides meet next weekend in the middle of Frankfurt's Europa Conference League two-legged clash with Union SG.
Focus will be on Bochum firstly though, but after five straight home wins against their upcoming opponents, Frankfurt could only manage a 1-1 draw in this fixture last season.
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Bochum will have their sights set on forming a gap between themselves and the bottom three, and their early form in 2024 has seen them do just that, while a draw between Mainz and Union Berlin in their rearranged fixture in midweek also helped.
The visitors have lost just three of their last 12 league games, and that regular inflow of points is keeping them clear of the three sides at the bottom struggling for form.
Taking 17 points in that time is top-half form, and a marked improvement after winning none of their opening nine games this season.
Only Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen and Dortmund have beaten them across those 12 matches, but they have all been away, as a reliance on home form could be a worry coming into this clash.
Despite conceding a stoppage-time equaliser to Augsburg last week, a 1-1 draw extended Bochum's home run to seven games, keeping Thomas Letsch's side six points above the dotted line.
Team News
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Red cards for Nkounkou and Tuta last weekend means the Frankfurt defensive pairing will be suspended for this clash, so it makes it the perfect time to welcome back William Pacho, who served a ban of his own in that Koln defeat.
With Hugo Ekitike's fitness being managed, and Sasa Kalajdzic away after the birth of his child, Toppmoller will be glad to welcome Omar Marmoush back from an illness picked up shortly after his return from Egypt duty, with the manager stating he will start with Fares Chaibi in attack this weekend.
Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe is out with a muscular issue though, while Sebastian Rode will only be fit enough to play 30 minutes after a recent return from injury.
Bochum can welcome back Takuma Asano on the wing after Japan were knocked out of the Asian Cup last week.
Keven Schlotterbeck could return to the starting XI after he was only named on the bench against Augsburg following his recovery from a muscle problem.
Apart from Mohammed Tolba and Michael Esser, who have been long-term absentees, the rest of the Bochum squad is fit and available to Letsch for this one.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Koch, Smolcic, Pacho; Knauff, Skhiri, Larsson, Gotze, Max; Marmoush, Chaibi
VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Riemann; Oermann, Masovic, Ordets, Bernardo; Losilla, Osterhage, Stoger; Asano, Broschinski, Anwti-Adjei
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 VfL Bochum
After dropping points against Darmstadt and losing at Koln, Frankfurt must improve on beating the sides near the bottom, and they should put things right with a win here, boosted by the return of Marmoush up front.
Bochum's recent surge has been largely down to their positive form at home, and while they have picked up a few decent results on the road, this will be difficult for them.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
