Facts & Figures: The top facts about the Bochum game

After eight games, VfL Bochum were on the ropes. Seven defeats and just three points were all they had to show for it. The relegated Bundesliga side changed coaches at that point. Uwe Rösler took over on the sidelines in October. Since then, the team’s fortunes at Castroper Straße have turned around completely. In the remaining nine matches of the first half of the season, VfL delighted their fans with an impressive 18 points. During Rösler’s tenure, Bochum are currently in second place. Only the current league leaders, Schalke 04, have a better points tally for this period.

SV Darmstadt 98 went into the winter break with the best run of any team in the second Bundesliga. In each of their last seven matches, the Lilies have earned at least one point, recording four wins and three draws. This run has propelled Florian Kohfeldt’s team to third place at the halfway point of the season.

The Swedish striker for Darmstadt, Isac Lidberg, is often in the spotlight. He repeatedly draws defenders in his path and powerfully fires the ball into the back of the net. His start to the season is unforgettable: in the opening match, when VfL Bochum visited the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor, Lidberg scored a hat trick to give Darmstadt a 4-1 victory. And he continued to radiate his goal-scoring threat, netting a total of eleven goals in the first half of the season, which, following the transfer of Younes Ebnoutalib (formerly of SV Elversberg, now at Eintracht Frankfurt), makes him the most dangerous striker in the league.

But VfL Bochum also needs to take a close look at their performance. Francis Oneyka scored twice in the last match against KSC and, with a total of six goals, is Bochum’s top scorer. The secret to VfL’s attacking success is currently the blend of young talent and experience. The 18-year-old striker is particularly brilliant in combination with Philipp Hofmann. The 32-year-old veteran has set up four of Oneyka’s six goals.

VfL Bochum boasts an impressive record against SV Darmstadt 98 at home. They are unbeaten in seven competitive matches against the Lilies at the Castroper Straße stadium. Darmstadt, however, have only managed one victory against the recently relegated Bundesliga side, a win that dates back a long time. It was the very first meeting between the two teams in Bochum, a match Darmstadt won 2-1 in 1979.

When it comes to injecting pace into their attacks, both teams are prime examples. Both Florian Kohfeldt and Uwe Rösler consistently witness their teams becoming dangerous through their counter-attacking play. Only two teams in the second division have had more shots on goal from counter-attacks than VfL Bochum (27). One of them is Hertha BSC, the other wears the Lily on its chest. The players of SV 98, just like the team from the capital, have 29 shots on goal following a counter-attack.

Bochum have conceded 22 goals so far, which is better than the league average (24). Furthermore, only two teams have allowed opponents more clear-cut chances than the side from the far west. The fact that Bochum have nevertheless conceded remarkably few goals, considering the xGoals value, is likely also due to the fact that the woodwork has proven to be a friend and helper of the VfL defense. What is seen as a blessing for VfL is probably considered a curse by the South Hessians. Because so far this season, the ball has already struck the crossbar or post nine times from a Bochum player. Only Hannover 96 have hit the woodwork more often (11).