VfL Bochum will be looking to break out of the Bundesliga relegation zone when they entertain Augsburg at Vonovia Ruhrstadion on Saturday afternoon.
While the hosts find themselves two points from certain safety with three matches remaining, the visitors are six points clear of the bottom three.
Match preview
© Reuters
Bochum are staring down the barrel of relegation following last weekend's 2-0 defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach, which extended the Blues' winless run to six games.
Having recorded three draws and three losses since their last victory, Thomas Letsch's men sit second from bottom in the Bundesliga table, three points clear of Hertha Berlin and two points from guaranteed safety.
To make matters worse for Bochum, they have managed to win just two of their previous 12 league matches, taking nine points from a possible 36 since a rare 5-2 thrashing of Hoffenheim back in February.
At the end of the day, it is easy to understand why the Blues find themselves in such a predicament, as they have suffered more defeats than any other side this season, losing 19 of their 31 Bundesliga encounters.
Bochum also possess the worst defensive record in the division, having conceded a disappointing 69 goals this term, while only fellow strugglers Schalke 04 have scored fewer goals than Bochum's 33.
© Reuters
Augsburg enter Saturday's showdown on the back of a hugely impressive 1-0 victory over Champions League-chasing Union Berlin, with Dion Drena Beljo scoring the only goal of the game.
Thanks to last weekend's triumph, the Bavaria outfit also head to Bochum on a three-match unbeaten run, with 1-1 draws against Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt easing relegation fears at the WWK Arena.
Although Enrico Maassen's side have managed to win just one of their last eight games, they have only lost two of their previous seven to open up a healthy six-point gap between them and the dreaded relegation playoff spot.
Still, there is no hiding the fact that Augsburg have endured a torrid time on the road in recent months, failing to win any of their previous 11 away league games while suffering eight defeats.
Having conceded at least two goals in 11 of their last 12 away outings in the Bundesliga – letting in at least three goals on six occasions during that period – Maassen's men will struggle to keep a clean sheet at Vonovia Ruhrstadion.
Team News
© Reuters
Bochum are sweating on the fitness of Kevin Stoger and Moritz Broschinski after the pair missed last weekend's defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach due to illness.
There are also question marks over the fitness of Patrick Osterhage, who is nursing a muscle injury, while Mohammed Tolba remains sidelined with an ACL injury.
Philipp Hofmann will continue to lead the line for the Blues, with Erhan Masovic, Takuma Asano and Anthony Losilla expected to line up in a three-man midfield.
Augsburg have multiple injury absentees of their own, with Julian Baumgartlinger, Rafal Gikiewicz, Andre Hahn, Iago, Fredrik Jensen, Reece Oxford and Tobias Strobl on the sidelines.
French forward Nathanael Mbuku is also likely to miss Saturday's clash due to illness, meaning that Ruben Vargas and Ermedin Demirovic will continue to support Dion Drean Beljo in attack.
Maximilian Bauer, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and Felix Uduokhai are expected to make up the hosts' backline, while Czech goalkeeper Tomas Koubek will continue between the sticks.
VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Riemann; Gamboa, Schlotterbeck, Ordets, Soares; Losilla, Asano, Masovic; Zoller, Hofmann, Antwi-Adjei
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Koubek; Bauer, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai; Maier, Engels, Rexhbecaj, Pedersen; Vargas, Beljo, Demirovic
We say: VfL Bochum 2-1 Augsburg
Given that Bochum must give everything that they have to stave off relegation, we expect the Blues to heap more away-day misery on Augsburg, who are on course to suffer a ninth defeat in 12 outings on the road.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
