Preview: VfL Bochum | OneFootball

Eintracht know full well what they need to do against Bochum: play with power, passion and desire.

As things stand

“The key factors will be intensity, mentality, power, emotions and passion,” said Dino Toppmöller ahead of Sunday’s trip to VfL Bochum (kick-off 15:30 CET). “If we can show all of that, then it’s incredibly difficult to play against us.”

The Eagles go into the meeting with the Bundesliga’s 16th-placed side on the back of a 4-1 victory over AFC Ajax in the UEFA Europa League, and are hoping to return to winning ways in the Bundesliga after some disappointing recent domestic results.

“We’ve done a lot of things really well with this young team, but there are still some things we can improve on,” said Toppmöller. “For example, we need to learn quickly not to keep making the same mistakes. If we do that, then doors will open for us.” Bochum’s form has improved since Dieter Hecking took over the reins, and particularly so since the turn of the year, to the extent that they beat Bayern Munich 3-2 away last week. They have impressed on home turf thanks to their battling spirit and tireless running.

Looking back

Hecking was eager not to set too much store by the 3-2 win in Munich last Saturday, however, insisting it would be of equally little significance as Eintracht’s 7-2 success over Bochum at Deutsche Bank Park on Matchday 9.

“We need to focus on what’s in front of us,” said the Bochum coach. “To do that you can’t look in the rearview mirror. We won’t win any more points if we believe that we’ll beat Frankfurt simply because we beat Bayern. It’s going to be a really tough task that we’ll have to find a solution for.”

Ruhrstadion cauldron

Both tacticians believe the venue will play a far more important role. Hecking, who was born locally in Castrop-Rauxel, said: “I’ll need the whole stadium on Sunday in order for us to be successful.”

Toppmöller, meanwhile, who earned promotion to the Bundesliga with Bochum during his playing days before moving to Eintracht and going up to the top flight again, said: “The stadium is something special. The crowd cheer every successful move, which I think is really good because the club needs this support in order to achieve their aims. We should just look forward to the game because tackles and intensity are part and parcel of it all. We’ll have to suffer and we’ll have to be able to cope with that.”