Dress rehearsal before PSG clash: FC Bayern vs. VfL Bochum – preview, team news and forecast

FC Bayern welcomes VfL Bochum this afternoon (3:30 p.m. CET). The Munich team wants to confirm the upward trend of recent games and restore calm in the Bundesliga ahead of the important Champions League clash at Paris Saint-Germain.

After three draws to start the new year, FC Bayern finally managed its long-awaited first win in the Bundesliga last Sunday. The German record champion thus remained unbeaten for the 18th competitive match in a row with a 4-2 win in Wolfsburg, but appearances are still a little deceptive. Since the restart, the competition has been closing in on the leaders.

Now, Bochum is the next potential stumbling block at home in the Allianz Arena. With just three days to go before the prestigious clash against PSG, the Nagelsmen must concentrate fully on the Revierklub and the Bundesliga.

„Bochum is a very important game for our season“.

After the furious 7:0 in the first leg, FC Bayern must prepare for a different VfL Bochum this time. Under their new coach Thomas Letsch, the Blue and Whites have presented themselves very strongly recently, picking up a total of 12 out of a possible eighteen points from the last six games.

The Munich team has scored just as many points in the same period. For Julian Nagelsmann, that’s reason enough to focus fully on Bochum: „We have to get out of our heads that we’re only thinking about Paris. Bochum is a very important game for our season. We have to approach it with 100% because we will have an influence on the CL game,“ said the 35-year-old at the final press conference.

Team news FC Bayern: Choupo-Moting and Upamecano return

Head coach Julian Nagelsmann announced yesterday that Choupo-Moting and Upamecano are fit again and will return to the starting eleven against VfL Bochum. For Gravenberch, on the other hand, the game still comes too early, but he should be available again against Paris. According to Nagelsmann, Leon Goretzka will replace the red-banned Kimmich on the six.

Mazraoui and Mané also made good progress recently and could return to the squad in the foreseeable future.

In addition to the suspended Joshua Kimmich, the record champion is also missing Ryan Gravenberch (knee problems), Manuel Neuer (lower leg fracture), Lucas Hernandez (cruciate ligament tear), Noussair Mazraoui and Sadio Mané (both in rehabilitation training).

Direct comparison

The two clubs have faced each other 71 times in the Bundesliga so far. Bayern has won 47 of these duels (47-15-9 from FCB’s point of view). Especially in Munich, the Bochum team has rarely had anything to gain. The last and also only VfL victory at FC Bayern dates back to 28.08.1991 (a 2:0).

Nagelsmann’s team won the first leg clearly with 7:0.

Predicted lineup

FC Bayern: Sommer – Cancelo, Upamecano, de Ligt, Davies – Goretzka – Sané, Müller, Musiala, Coman – Choupo-Moting

VfL Bochum: Riemann – Janko, Ordets, Masovic, Soares – Losilla, Stöger, Asano, Förster, Antwi-Adjei – Hofmann

Prediction

FC Bayern goes into this afternoon’s clash against Bochum as favorites, despite the whirlwind of the past few days. With the return of Choupo-Moting, the Munich offense will be able to pose some problems to the Bochum side, which is weak away from home. Even though the Champions League is already casting its shadow ahead, Sané Co. will not take today’s match lightly.