The derby between VfL Bochum and Schalke 04 is on Saturday. This is the personnel situation at VfL on Thursday.

You can literally feel the tingling. On Saturday (15:30), the derby between VfL Bochum and FC Schalke will take place in the Bundesliga. It’s a matter of staying out of the relegation zone, when the second-to-last team from Bochum receives the last team from Gelsenkirchen.

The stadium has been sold out for a long time, both clubs could have sold so many more tickets to the fans. Therefore, the motto for both coaches is probably: the emotions have to be channelled in the right way.

VfL coach Thomas Letsch made a very relaxed impression on Thursday. He will have to do without Cristian Gamboa (torn inner ligament), Gerrit Holtmann (meniscus surgery), captain Anthony Losilla (red suspension) and Simon Zoller (muscular problems) against Schalke. In the event of another yellow card, left-back Danilo Soares would miss Friday’s (4 March, 20:30) game against 1. FC Köln.

Good for the VfL: Ivan Ordets and Danilo Soares are back after their illness. Letsch had to do without the duo in Bremen.

Before the 90 minutes, the coach emphasises: “It is a very special game. This home derby has not been played in the Bundesliga for a long time. We are really looking forward to Saturday. These are the duels we work for. We want to stick to a clear tactical plan, with all the emotion. “

Specially the loss of Losilla weighs heavily on VfL these days. But you won’t hear Letsch complaining, he explains: “We are missing leading players. But then others have to carry the responsibility. Manuel Riemann is always one of those, as is Ivan Ordets or Kevin Stöger. But actually everyone is called upon and can contribute.”

It will be important not to perform like we did in Bremen, and Letsch is relying on his team’s ability to take criticism: “We were harmless up front in Bremen and also performed very badly defensively. The team was insightful and self-critical. I addressed things clearly. We need absolute commitment, sharpness on the pitch. We must not lack that.”

Especially not in a derby and with the starting position. Letsch: “It is an important game. Because of the closeness, especially in the table. The team knows what to expect. They are ready for Saturday.”

This is how VfL Bochum could play against Schalke: Riemann – Janko, Ordets, Masovic, Soares – Stöger, Kunde, Förster – Asano, Hofmann, Antwi-Adjei