Ninth-placed Wolfsburg will hope to avoid an upset in their battle for Europe when they host second-last VfL Bochum on Saturday at Volkswagen Arena in the Bundesliga.
The Wolves' 2-1 victory against Stuttgart last Saturday saw them increase their points tally to 30, and now only four points separate them from the fourth and final Champions League qualification spot, whereas Bochum have 14 points and occupy the second of two automatic relegation places.
Match preview
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Wolfsburg left it late against Stuttgart, scoring their only big chances in the 77th and 82nd minutes after Die Roten had initially taken a 72nd-minute lead.
In fact, seven of their last 10 goals have been scored after the 60th minute, while only four of their last 25 have come in the first half of matches.
Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl will be concerned that his side have only kept one clean sheet in their past six, conceding eight in that period.
The visitors' record against teams in the bottom half of the table is somewhat mixed given they have dropped points against teams such as last-placed Holstein Kiel and fifth last St Pauli, though they have earned draws against second-placed Bayer Leverkusen and third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.
Hasenhuttl's side have struggled for victories having drawn three, lost one and won one of their past five, though three of those games were against the Bundesliga's top three.
The Wolves' record at home has been strong for some time, with the club losing just once in their nine most recent outings at Volkswagen Arena, winning five and settling for a point on three occasions.
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Meanwhile, Bochum beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on February 15 in what was an evenly contested match considering both teams generated in excess of 2.5 xG, but the victors did manage to produce six big chances compared to Dortmund's four.
The victory means that while they are currently in the relegation zone, they are level on points with 16th-placed Heidenheim, who occupy the league's relegation playoff spot.
Head coach Dieter Hecking will want to avoid another defeat against Wolfsburg, with Bochum having been defeated 3-1 by the Wolves on October 5 despite producing a similar expected goals figure.
Die Blauen come into Saturday's game with two wins and two draws in their last six Bundesliga outings, picking up more points than eight of the bottom nine in that time.
However, Bochum are winless on the road this term in all competitions, losing 10 and drawing two of their 12 away fixtures in 2024-25.
Team News
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Wolfsburg defender Kilian Fischer is suspended as a result of accumulating too many yellow cards, and he will be joined on the sidelines by Rogerio, as well as goalkeepers Kamil Grabara and Niklas Klinger.
Expect shot-stopper Marius Muller to be shielded by Mads Roerslev, Denis Vavro, Konstantinos Koulierakis and Joakim Maehle.
Considering forwards Kevin Paredes, Bartosz Bialek, Lukas Nmecha and Lovro Majer have all been ruled out, Hasenhuttl may start a front two featuring Jonas Wind and Mohamed El Amine Amoura.
Mattias Svanberg and Aster Vranckx are likely to play in a double pivot given midfielder Maximilian Arnold is unavailable due to injury.
As for Bochum, wing-back Felix Passlack is scheduled to return in early March while striker Myron Boadu may not make his comeback from a hamstring injury until the middle of next month.
Expect Maximilian Wittek and Tim Oermann to flank a back three consisting of Erhan Masovic, Ivan Ordets and Bernardo.
Philipp Hofmann and Giorgos Masouras started against Dortmund in the forward line, and they will almost certainly appear together on Saturday.
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Muller; Roerslev, Vavro, Koulierakis, Maehle; Tomas, Svanberg, Vranckx, Wimmer; Wind, Amoura
VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Drewes; Masovic, Ordets, Bernardo; Oermann, Bero, Sissoko, Krauss, Wittek; Masouras, Hofmann
We say: Wolfsburg 2-1 VfL Bochum
Wolfsburg have at times struggled against sides in the bottom half, and they may encounter difficulties against a confident Bochum team.
However, the visitors' record away from home is a cause for concern, and it is hard to overlook their failings on the road, so the Wolves should be seen as favourites to collect all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
