First round in Braunschweig, second round in Mainz and now the round of 16 in Bochum. VfB’s run of away trips continues – not just in their general schedule in recent weeks but even more so in the DFB Cup. The Cannstatt boys travel to Bundesliga 2 side VfL Bochum in the last 16 on Wednesday evening (18:00 CET) with the aim of booking their place in the cup quarter-finals. That won’t be a straightforward task, though.
Bochum on the up since change of coach
“We’re in for a real cup battle,” stated head coach Sebastian Hoeneß. “Since Uwe Rösler took over as coach at Bochum, they’re top of the second division in many statistics. There’s a good mix of experienced and young players in the squad.” The 43-year-old pointed out that Bochum’s recent performances have been much steadier than their current position of 12th might suggest. Nevertheless, that makes no difference to the target for VfB.
“We want to try to dampen Bochum’s high and have the clear aim of reaching the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup,” said Hoeneß, adding: “It’s about having movement, purpose and activeness in our play from the first minute. It’s a knockout game, so there are no second chances.”
Bredlow to start in goal
Two personnel decisions have already been made: Fabian Bredlow will begin in goal, while Deniz Undav will also be included in the starting line-up. Tiago Tomás, who’s struggling with a thigh contusion, is a doubt, as is Chris Führich (muscular problem).
Defenders Luca Jaquez and Dan-Axel Zagadou, who have both been ruled out for the rest of the year with muscle injuries, are definitely unavailable, along with Ermedin Demirovic (foot), Yannik Keitel (muscle) and Justin Diehl (ankle).