At Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, VfL Bochum want to finally achieve what has not worked recently. A good away performance should be rewarded with points.

VfL Bochum have a six-point cushion on the relegation places. Now they face three opponents – Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and Gladbach – against whom they scored just one point in the first half of the season.

Coach Thomas Letsch’s team now has the opportunity to do better. And, as in recent weeks, he can almost draw on a full complement of players. Takuma Asano is also back from the Asian Cup and expands his coach’s options. However, the large number of fit players also means that numerous players will not be in the squad.

At the press conference ahead of the match on the Main (Saturday, 3:30pm), Letsch emphasized: “Takuma Asano is back. He makes a good mental impression. It speaks for him and his attitude that he rejoined us straight after being knocked out of the Asian Cup. We have a large squad, which also means that there will be disappointments. That’s part of professional soccer. I’ve always done well by being honest with the players when it comes to explaining why someone isn’t there. “

In the end, there will only be 20 men in the squad and Letsch will give them a game plan that doesn’t deviate much from what Bochum have done so far.

The coach explains: “My team has a lot of courage. They are convinced of the path we are taking. We won’t deviate from our soccer in Frankfurt either. Games are never comparable. But Frankfurt do it in a similar way to Leverkusen, they look for playful solutions. They have high quality, especially as some players have returned. That’s why our approach will perhaps be slightly different to the home game against Augsburg.”

One thing is clear: Bochum will be looking at themselves, also due to the question marks Letsch has regarding the Frankfurt line-up. Two players are suspended after being sent off in Cologne and there are a few returning players, so the team is a bit of a grab bag.

The coach has a clearer view of Kevin Stöger, who has not performed quite as strongly recently as in many other games. However, he is clear: “Kevin is a player who always demands the ball. If he makes three mistakes, he still wants the ball the fourth time. For me, it’s absolutely clear that he will start.”

This is how VfL Bochum could play at Eintracht Frankfurt

Riemann – Oermann, Ordets, Schlotterbeck, Bernardo – Losilla, Osterhage – Asano, Bero, Stöger – Broschinski

Missing: Esser (knee complaints), Tolba (cruciate ligament rupture)

Impending suspensions: Antwi-Adjei, Bero, Losilla, Masovic, Riemann