Bayern Munich vs VfL Bochum Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

Bayern Munich will aim to remain atop the Bundesliga table when they welcome VfL Bochum at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.

The 2022/23 Bundesliga season continues this week with Matchday 20. The latest round of fixtures begins on Friday, and the action on Saturday will kick-start with the game between Bayern Munich and VfL Bochum at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern Munich entered the 2022/23 season with the general expectation of dominating the title race again. But the Bavarian giants have not been consistent enough, even though they remain atop the Bundesliga table. However, they have won just 11 of their 19 league games thus far, with high-flying Union Berlin just a point behind.

On the other hand, VfL Bochum will seemingly be in the relegation battle for much of the season. The Undescendables are 15th in the Bundesliga standings, with 16th-placed VfB Stuttgart three points behind. And returning to winning ways against Hoffenheim might serve Thomas Letsch’s men well in the long run.

Bayern Munich cruised to a 7-0 win over Bochum in the reverse fixture, with the game witnessing six goalscorers. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

Bayern Munich

Julian Nagelsmann has a new roster issue hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against VfL Bochum on Saturday, the Bayern Munich manager will be bereft of the services of six first-team players.

Joshua Kimmich is the latest absentee after seeing red against VfL Wolfsburg. The German midfielder has joined Manuel Neuer (leg), Lucas Hernandez (knee), Noussair Mazraoui (heart inflammation), Ryan Gravenberch (knee), and Sadio Mane (leg) on the sidelines.

Yann Sommer will continue to deputise for Neuer between the sticks, with Bayern Munich set to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him. Joao Cancelo has taken to life at the Allianz Arena seamlessly and will start as the right-back. Alphonso Davies should start on the left flank, with Dayot Upamecano and Matthijs de Ligt forming the central defensive partnership.

With Gravenberch injured and Kimmich suspended, Jamal Musiala will drop into the double pivot in the middle of the park. The teenage sensation will join Leon Goretzka in the centre of the pitch. So Thomas Muller will have the no. 10 role all for himself.

Kingsley Coman comes into this game on the back of a brace against Wolfsburg. And the French international should feature on the left flank. Serge Gnabry will likely start on the right wing, with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting picking himself as the central striker.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sommer; Cancelo, Upamecano, de Ligt, Davies; Musiala, Goretzka; Gnabry, Muller, Coman; Choupo-Moting

VfL Bochum

Unlike his counterpart in the Bayern Munich dugout, Thomas Letsch does not have any new issues to deal with ahead of the trip to the Allianz Arena. The VfL Bochum manager will be without three first-team players on Saturday.

Goalkeepers Michael Esser (muscle injury) and Paul Grave (shoulder) remain on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Cristian Gamboa (knee) is closing in on returning to action later this month. Otherwise, Letsch has a full-strength squad at his disposal this weekend.

Manuel Riemann will take his place between the sticks, with Bochum lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him. Ivan Ordets and Erhan Masovic should form the central defensive unit, with Danilo Soares and Saidy Janko being the two full-backs.

Captain Anthony Losilla will be determined to keep things tight in the middle of the park. And he will accompany Kevin Stoger in the double pivot. The duo will look to cut out the passing lanes for the Bayern Munich creators. And they will also aim to relay the ball forward quickly during the counters.

Philipp Forster should reprise the no. 10 role, looking to carve out the openings in the final third. Meanwhile, Takuma Asano and Christopher Antwi-Adjei should be the two wide attackers, with Philipp Hofmann spearheading the Bochum attack against Bayern Munich.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Riemann; Janko, Ordets, Masovic, Soares; Losilla, Stoger; Asano, Forster, Antwi-Adjei; Hofmann

Key Stats

• Bayern Munich have lost just one of their 35 Bundesliga home games against VfL Bochum (W26, D8): 2-0 in August 1991. But the Blues have already picked up points at the Allianz Arena on two occasions (D2, L3), drawing 0-0 in January 2007 and 3-3 in October 2008.
• Since their promotion back to the top flight, VfL Bochum have won two of their three Bundesliga games against a side sitting in the first place (4-2 vs Bayern in February 2022, 2-1 vs Union Berlin in October 2022). Both of these wins came at home. But they have never beaten a current Bundesliga leader away from home in any of their 26 previous attempts.
• VfL Bochum’s 5-2 win over Hoffenheim last time out was the first time they have scored five goals in a single Bundesliga game since November 2007 (5-3 vs VfL Wolfsburg). They have taken 18 points from 12 Bundesliga games under Thomas Letsch. Since the turn of the millennium, only Peter Neururer has taken more points from his first 12 top-flight games in charge of the club (20 in November 2002).
• VfL Bochum have lost nine of their 10 Bundesliga away games this season. No other team has lost more than seven times on the road. They have only suffered as many away defeats at this stage of a campaign once before: in 1992/93 when they were relegated.
• Christopher Antwi-Adjei provided three assists in the 5-2 win over Hoffenheim, becoming the first VfL player to do so in the Bundesliga since detailed data collection began in 2004/05. He is also the first player to record a hat-trick of assists in the first half of a top-flight game since Borussia Monchengladbach’s Raffael in September 2015.

Player to Watch

Kingsley Coman

Embed from Getty Images

Coman has been in fine form this season and looked good for France at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. And the Frenchman has returned to action at the club level on a bright note. That continued in the last game against VfL Wolfsburg as he scored a brace, the first time he has managed the feat in the Bundesliga since April 2019.

Coman had a hand in three of the seven goals that Bayern Munich scored in the reverse fixture. And he will again be in business when the Bundesliga champions host VfL Bochum this weekend. And amid links with Real Madrid, the 26-year-old will be keen on cementing his spot out wide.

Prediction

Bayern Munich 4-0 VfL Bochum

VfL Bochum might have smashed Hoffenheim last weekend, but they will be no match for Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions were sensational as they cruised to a 7-0 win in the reverse fixture. And despite failing to stitch together long winning runs thus far this season, the hosts remain the favourites here.

Bochum will look to exploit the makeshift central midfield pairing of Jamal Musiala and Leon Goretzka. But Bayern Munich will be too strong for the Blues before eventually running away with the game. The Hard Tackle predicts a 4-0 win for Julian Nagelsmann and his charges.