On Saturday, VfL Bochum will finally try to achieve what has not worked out recently at Eintracht Frankfurt. A good away performance should be rewarded with points.

The Bundesliga club VfL Bochum has a six-point cushion between themselves and the relegation spot. Now, with Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and Gladbach, they face three opponents against whom they only managed to get one point in the first half of the season.

So Thomas Letsch’s team now has the chance to do better. And, as in recent weeks, he has almost a full squad to choose from. Takuma Asano is also back from the Asian Cup and increases 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 before the game in Frankfurt (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.), Letsch emphasized: “Takuma Asano is back. He makes a good mental impression. It speaks for him and his attitude that he rejoined us immediately after being eliminated from the Asian Cup. We have a large squad, which also means that there are disappointments. That’s part of professional soccer. I’ve always been good at 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 they will get a roadmap from Letsch that doesn’t differ much from what Bochum has been about 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 football in Frankfurt either. Games are never comparable. But Frankfurt play in a similar way to Leverkusen, they look for playful solutions. They have a high quality, especially since some players have returned. Therefore, our approach will perhaps be slightly different than in the home game against Augsburg.”

One thing is for sure: Bochum will be keeping an eye on themselves, not least because of the question marks that Letsch has regarding Frankfurt’s line-up. Two players are suspended after being sent off in Cologne, and there are a number of returnees, so the team is somewhat of a mixed bag.

The coach has a clearer view of the situation with Kevin Stöger, who has not been as strong as in many other games recently. But 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 is 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 problems), Tolba (cruciate ligament rupture)

At risk of suspension: Antwi-Adjei, Bero, Losilla, Masovic, Riemann