Bochum are languishing at the bottom of the table after winning two, drawing five and losing 14 of their 21 league matches this season. As a result of that disappointing return, Bochum are sitting three points away from the relegation playoff spot and seven points away from safety altogether.
Dieter Hecking’s side have taken just two points from their last four matches since beating St. Pauli 1-0 on January 15. They played out a 3-3 draw with RB Leipzig, before they lost to Borussia Mönchengladbach and Freiburg without troubling the scorers. They then had to settle for a point in last Sunday’s away clash against Holstein Kiel. Myron Boadu netted a brace to give Bochum a 2-1 lead, before David Zec netted a 50th-minute equaliser to ensure the contest finished all square.
After being involved in a 2-2 away draw, Bochum will now return to the Vonovia Ruhrstadion, where they have won two, drawn one and lost one of their last four matches. Bochum are looking to beat Dortmund for the first time since recording a 4-3 away win in April 2022, while they have not picked up a competitive head-to-head home victory since March 2007.
Boadu has been ruled out with an injury he picked up in the recent draw with St. Pauli. Felix Passlack will not be fit to face his former club, while Maximilian Wittek will serve a one-match ban for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Dortmund have their work cut out to secure Champions League qualification after collecting just 29 points from their 21 league games this season. As a result, they start matchday 22 in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, with seven points separating them from the top four.
Die Schwarzgelben experienced disappointment in the first match of Niko Kovac’s tenure, falling to a 2-1 defeat in last Saturday’s home clash with Stuttgart. However, they managed to produce a positive response in Tuesday’s Champions League knockout round playoff first leg against Portuguese giants Sporting CP. Serhou Guirassy opened the scoring on the hour mark, before he provided the assist for Pascal Groß to double Dortmund’s advantage in Lisbon. Karim Adeyemi then added a third to give his side a commanding three-goal lead ahead of Wednesday’s return leg.
After claiming their first win under Kovac, Dortmund will be focused on taking maximum points from Saturday’s derby fixture, especially as they have won just two of their previous 10 top-flight matches. They have lost just one of their last 13 Bundesliga meetings with Bochum, but they have seen each of their previous three away league encounters finish all square.
Felix Nmecha remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Julian Ryerson will serve a one-match ban after being sent off in the closing stages of the defeat to Stuttgart.
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