Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Bochum: Bundesliga Team News, Preview
By Tushar Bahl
Borussia Dortmund will hope to make it three wins in a row as they go up against VfL Bochum in the Ruhr Derby this weekend.
The Westfalenstadion will host its first game of 2024 on Sunday as Borussia Dortmund take on local rivals VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga. Despite the overall gulf in quality between the two sides, the Black and Yellows have managed to beat Bochum just once in the last five meetings between the two sides. So this is a fixture BVB certainly cannot afford to take lightly.
Borussia Dortmund's injury situation has eased up slightly ahead of the game, with Mats Hummels, Emre Can, and Niklas Süle in contention to feature on Sunday. Gregor Kobel, Julian Brandt and Marco Reus are all dealing with illness at the moment, which could present Gio Reyna with a rare opportunity in the starting XI.
Ramy Bensebaini is unavailable despite Algeria's elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations. Julian Ryerson, Karim Adeyemi, and Felix Nmecha are still sidelined with their respective injuries.
Jadon Sancho looks set to start again for Borussia Dortmund after making a strong impression since joining on loan from Manchester United. The in-form Donyell Malen should also feature in attack, while Youssoufa Moukoko will hope to replace Niclas Füllkrug in the starting XI.
Like Edin Terzic's side, Bochum have enjoyed an impressive start to 2024. Thomas Letsch's side stunned third placed Stuttgart last weekend, moving up to 14th place in the Bundesliga. They will have to make do without the suspended Bernardo on Sunday, while Takuma Asano is away on Asia Cup duty.
So the attacking impetus will fall on the likes of Kevin Stöger, Gonçalo Paciência, and Matúš Bero - who scored the winning goal against Stuttgart. As has often been the case in recent fixtures between these two teams, Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Riemann will have a decisive role to play on Sunday.
Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Bochum: Expected Starting XIs
Borussia Dortmund: Meyer - Meunier, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen - Can, Sabitzer, Reyna - Malen, Sancho - Füllkrug
VfL Bochum: Riemann - Oermann, Mašović, Loosli, Wittek - Osterhage, Losilla, Stöger - Bero, Antwi-Adjei - Paciência
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