Preview: VfL Bochum vs Stuttgart - prediction, team news, lineups

DFB Pokal action continues this Wednesday night as defending champions Stuttgart travel to the Vonovia Ruhrstadion for an intriguing third-round clash.

The Swabians endured a surprise league defeat on Sunday and will be itching to bounce back against an unpredictable VfL Bochum side.

Match preview

Seven months on from their Bundesliga relegation, Bochum are slowly beginning to find their feet in the second division, picking up form in recent weeks and losing just one of their last six league outings.

The Blues, who suffered seven defeats from their opening nine games at the start of the season, decided to shake things up in October, drafting in former Leeds United, Malmo FF, and Fortuna Dusseldorf boss, Uwe Rosler.

Under the stewardship of the 57-year-old German, Bochum have enjoyed an upswing in results and have dragged themselves away from the bottom three… at least for now.

Last weekend marked Bochum’s fourth win in five games across all competitions, with the team picking up a 3-0 victory away at Greuther Furth.

With momentum growing and home advantage on their side, Bochum will now be looking to give a good account of themselves when they welcome Stuttgart.

Speaking of the Swabians, Sunday marked the end of their four-match unbeaten run after the club endured a surprise 2-1 defeat against strugglers Hamburger SV.

Sebastian Hoeness and his men were not at their clinical best as they conceded a frustrating stoppage time goal in what proved to be just their third defeat in two months.

Having scored 12 goals in four matches prior to their trip to Hamburg, Stuttgart were building a solid reputation for their goalscoring abilities.

However, keeping their goal output at an optimum level is not an easy task, with the club balancing Bundesliga, Europa League and DFB Pokal duties - something which showed on Sunday.

Die Roten will now be looking to shake off their recent defeat as they prepare for their first trip to Bochum since April - a trip which ended in a 4-0 success.

Having won five of their last six meetings against the Blues, Stuttgart will be licking their lips at the prospect of progression to the fourth round of the DFB Pokal.

VfL Bochum DFB Pokal form:

W W

VfL Bochum form (all competitions):

D W W W L W

Stuttgart DFB Pokal form:

W W

Stuttgart form (all competitions):

L W W D W L

Team News

Bochum are dealing with a couple of injury worries as they head into Wednesday’s encounter with Stuttgart.

Experienced defender Kevin Vogt has been out since September with a knee injury - one which is expected to keep him out of action for some time.

Midfielder Matus Bero has missed the last four games for Bochum and is expected to remain on the sidelines for this upcoming cup clash.

Stuttgart’s may have a lot more strength in depth than their upcoming opponents, but that does not change the fact that the Swabians are struggling with injuries.

Forwards Ermedin Demirovic and Silas are both recovering from issues, with the latter yet to play a single minute of competitive football since joining the club in the summer.

Tiago Tomas has missed the last two games with a muscle problem, while Dan-Axel Zagadou has been out of action for a month.

VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:

Horn; Wittek, Strompf, Loosli, Morgalla; Sissoko, Lenz; Holtmann, Onyeka, Miyoshi; Hofmann

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:

Nubel; Al-Dakhil, Chabot, Hendriks; Stenzel, Chema, Nartey, Vangnoman; El Khannouss, Fuhrich; Bouanani

We say: VfL Bochum 1-3 Stuttgart

Stuttgart have a lot on their plate, but they will be determined to go as far as they can in what is their title defence.

Bochum proved they can score goals, and we expect them to rattle the net at least once. However, when it comes to the final result, Stuttgart are the ones to back.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.