After losses to Hamburg and Hannover 96 in Bundesliga play, Werkself responded with a tremendous victory over Bayern München in the DFB Pokal. Recent losses have seen Bayer 04 drop from the top six and well off pace of the first place Berliners. As VfL Bochum travels to Düsseldorf, Bruno Labbadia is anxious to continue the winning form of the Pokal and get back into the championship race.Since the start of the Rückrunde, Bochum have completely turned around their early season form with ten points including victories over KSC, Schalke and Energie Cottbus. Now out of the relegation zone, their schedule takes on a tough run and their coach Marcel Koller will be looking to squeeze out points where possible.
Bayer 04 coach Bruno Labbadia was dutifully impressed with Bochum:
“Bochum’s results before the winter break were disappointing but VfL are now one of the strongest sides in the league. They will fight for the whole 90 minutes and play decent football. The main thing for us is to carry on where we left off. The key factor will be how we can carry on working together."
Werkself are likely missing Tomasz Zdebel and Manuel Friedrich but Henrique and Gonzalo Castro are available following suspension and will immediately enter the starting eleven. Beyond that there are no changes to Simon Rolfes and company as Tranquillo Barnetta, Stefan Kießling and Patrick Helmes will drive forward in the assault.
Photo Credit: Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH
