Bochum hoping to leave Hoffenheim with a smile on their face

Last season brought a string of highlights for VfL Bochum: the spectacular and well-deserved 4-2 triumph over all-conquering Bayern Munich, an impressive 13th-place finish in the league table with 42 points, not to mention going undefeated against their illustrious neighbours BVB. The crowning glory was the 4-3 victory away in the derby against Dortmund, which secured VfL 1848 another year in the top flight.

Credit for this must go to coach Thomas Reis, the former Bundesliga pro who took over at Bochum in September 2019 with the team near the bottom of the Bundesliga 2 and who has since transformed them into a solid Bundesliga outfit in the space of three years through his assured and resolute style of coaching.

In the 2021/22 season, TSG also got a taste of just how strong Bochum are as a collective, with both fixtures against VfL ending in defeat. This year, with the euphoria of promotion long disappeared from the rearview mirror, Bochum will have to deal with the challenges of the "difficult second season". The goal is clear - avoid relegation.

In terms of personnel, VfL have had to adjust to a number of departures before the start of the season. In addition to striker Sebastian Polter, who has joined Schalke, they have also lost key members of their defensive set-up. Centre-back Maxim Leitsch was snapped up by Mainz, while the highly-touted Armel Bella-Kotchap has also left the club, with the 20-year-old fetching a club-record fee of around ten million euros from Southampton.

Thomas Reis has therefore been forced to build anew. As was the case last season, his team will look to sit back and hit opponents on the break as opposed to dominate possession. That said, new signing Kevin Stöger, who has moved to the Ruhr from Mainz, will offer playmaking ability from midfield.

At the moment, however, Reis is faced with major restructuring in the back four: in Hoffenheim, the coach may even be forced to field two new centre-backs. New arrivals Ivan Ordets and Dominique Heintz, who only this week moved to Castroper Straße on loan from Union Berlin, could be thrown into action this weekend. Heintz has made 188 appearances in the Bundesliga, so the coach is relaxed about dropping him in at the deep end: "Dominique Heintz has made a good impression. He has match practice under his belt and he knows the league. He will go directly into the squad on Saturday." There's a good chance he'll feature in the starting XI at the PreZero Arena. There are even bigger issues on the left side of defence: TSG's reunion with former player Kostas Stafylidis has been cancelled due to injury. His back-ups, Jannes Horn and Danilo Soares, are also sidelined, meaning right-back Saidy Janko may have to move over to fill in the gap on the left flank.

TSG coach André Breitenreiter knows that his counterpart will come up with a solution. They once played together as German youth internationals, later earned their A-coaching licence at the same time, and now they will go head-to-head on the touchline for the first time in the Bundesliga. "We have known each other for a long time and I have always kept track of his career. He's had some real success," said Reis ahead of the game, adding: "It's nice to see him back in the Bundesliga." But now, despite the pleasure of a reunion, the Bochum head coach has just one thing on his mind: "We want to be the ones going home with a smile on our faces."

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