What Eintracht Frankfurt expects against VfL Bochum
Dhe recipe for success for Bochum? “Don’t look at the table.” At least that’s how the Eintracht coach sees it Oliver Glasner. The fact that the Frankfurters, who have just successfully received the premier class test seal against Tottenham, are playing against the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga has no meaning for the Austrian for the outcome of the match this Saturday (3:30 p.m. in the afternoon). FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and at Sky). In the Bundesliga, the last can beat the first at any time. And Eintracht is “only sixth” before the ninth matchday. Full concentration and passion are therefore required.
But doing that is easier said than done, four days after such a peak as Tottenham, which goalkeeper Kevin Trapp also points out. “It’s difficult for your head to recall everything so quickly. But in the end, that’s exactly what matters.” Eintracht lost in last season Bochum 0-2, four days after a European Cup success against Olympiacos Piraeus.
Lazy VfL
But the team did not have a fundamental problem with the double burden Europe League and league. Eintracht scored quite reliably in national competition after European Cup matches well into the spring. It was only when the last knockout rounds were about the big coup and there was no way up in the Bundesliga that they concentrated on Europe and suffered defeats in the league.
But the starting situation against Bochum a year ago was completely different. VfL was in a high mood as a promoted team and Eintracht had not yet found themselves under their new coach Glasner. This time Frankfurt are happy about their good form and Bochum are pretty down. The change of coach from Thomas Reis to Thomas Letsch did not lead to an immediate improvement. On the contrary – the 0: 4 against RB Leipzig was one of the weakest performances of Bochum this season.
Your big weakness according to the statistics: The VfL professionals are among the lazyest in the league. They ripped off the third-least miles overall and undertook the second-least intense runs. A starting point for coach Letsch: “Bayern can afford not to run that much given their class and their long periods of possession. For someone who is bottom of the table it cannot be to have covered the third fewest kilometers.”
But VfL’s problems are complex. They have conceded the most goals conceded in total (23) and most goals conceded from dead ball (10) so far this season. Bochum allowed the most shots on goal (160), has the fewest high ball wins of all teams (46), scored the fewest goals (5) and has the worst conversion of chances at seven percent. The fact that the goalkeeper, Riemann, has played the most passes (398) so far can also be seen as an extremely bad sign.
Despite everything, Eintracht coach Glasner considers Bochum to be a dangerous opponent. They are very strong and they only offer very few rooms. Well, you have to be able to expect a little something from every opponent in the Bundesliga.
In any case, Eintracht has playmakers with Kamada and Götze, who know how to overturn a defense with their passes, and with Lindström and Knauff, very fast dribblers who can get through from the outside. Having all four of them in the starting XI would be a proven and courageous personnel decision by Glasner, since Borre is a fifth offensive force at the top and it would be challenging for the players to maintain the defensive balance. Kristijan Jakic and Luca Pellegrini would be more defensive alternatives for the flanks.
Whichever formation Glasner tackles the game in Bochum, Lucas Alario will first have to sit on the substitutes’ bench again. The Argentinian, who signed for 6.5 million euros from Bayer Leverkusen, certainly imagined his job in Frankfurt differently. He moved from the Rhine to the Main in the belief that he would get more playing time. Now it’s even less. If it was chic in Leverkusen, it’s Kolo Muani, who the 30-year-old Argentinian cannot ignore.
But Borre also has something ahead of him – his great skills in pressing. Alario specializes purely in scoring goals and has no secondary virtues that are of value to the team. So the Argentinian only becomes interesting as a crowbar in an emergency – but the emergency has rarely occurred recently and if it did, coach Glasner trusted others to take a decisive action. Because in the few minutes of action at the beginning of the season he didn’t look very convincing as a crowbar. Which is difficult to accuse Alario of because of his lack of match practice, on the other hand, the apology doesn’t help him.
However, the conditions are not bad in Bochum for the top scorer to get a chance in the second half. If Eintracht leads clearly, they can rest one of the busy offensive players, if Frankfurt urgently need a goal, Alario could try his nose for goals against the extremely defensive Bochum.
