By Jonathan Dicks @Jonathan_Dicks
Frankfurt travel to struggling Bochum on Matchday 9, who are still searching for the right formation and starting eleven under new coach Thomas Letsch.
| Kevin Trapp. | Photo: Sven Mandel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
VfL Bochum
Bochum are off to the worst start in Bundesliga history with just one point recorded from their first eight games. They are still waiting for the ‘new coach effect’ to hit after another disastrous 4-0 loss to RB Leipzig last week.
They’ve scored just five goals thus far and have allowed 23 goals at the back, which could be worse if not for the heroics of Manuel Riemann. With Takuma Asano still out, the squad will rely heavily on Gerrit Holtmann and Simon Zoller up front to sway the consensus that Bochum are heading towards relegation this year.
Manager Thomas Letsch emphasized that, “We want to show everyone in the stadium that we are no longer presenting ourselves the way we did in Leipzig. We want to get the fans behind us quickly. I’m really looking forward to my first home game here in Bochum.”
Team News
Asano, Kevin Stöger, Lys Mousset and Paul Grave are all unavailable.
Eintracht Frankfurt
On the other hand, Frankfurt are playing some decent football. They’re hanging around in their Champions League group after a draw to Tottenham midweek and comfortably sit in the top half of the Bundesliga table.
After center-back Almamy Toure’s injury, 38-year-old Makoto Hasebe has come back into the starting lineup and played admirably. Coach Oliver Glasner raved about the veteran this week:
“Makoto is incredible. – Both as a player and as a person. I consider it a privilege to be able to coach him.”
Frankfurt have won four of the last five league matches, but with Randal Kolo Muani suspended, Rafael Borre is likely to start up front for Eintracht. It’s also believed that Mario Götze will be in the squad after missing the Tottenham game with an ankle injury.
In his press conference, Glasner added that, “We’d do well not to look at the table. We can beat the leaders and lose to the bottom side in our next match. In Bochum, we’ll also go into the game feeling mentally fresh and motivated.”
Team News
Kolo Muani is suspended, while Toure, Aurelio Buta and Jerome Onguene are out with injuries.
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