Preview: Greuther Furth vs. VfL Bochum - prediction, team news, lineups

The Bundesliga's bottom two sides meet as Greuther Furth take on VfL Bochum at the Sportpark Ronhof | Thomas Sommer on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts find themselves at the foot of the table, having taken just one point from their first seven games, while their upcoming opponents sit just one place above them with four points.

Match preview

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Greuther Furth are yet to manage a win this season, including in the DFB-Pokal, with the squad particularly struggling defensively, having conceded 19 goals in the opening seven games.

Their single point came a long time ago in gameweek two, and Stefan Leitl's side are now on a run of five consecutive defeats, all but one of which have been by more than one goal.

Things did not get any better last time out as they fell to their second consecutive 3-1 defeat, this time at the hands of FC Koln.

It was actually Greuther who took the lead through Marco Meyerhofer in the seventh minute and Leitl would have been pleased to see his side hold that lead through to half time.

However, Koln came out from the break fired up and had wrestled back the lead within 10 minutes, thanks to Sebastian Andersson and Ellyes Skhiri goals, with the Tunisian midfielder adding his second to secure the points late on.

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If Greuther were to choose any game with the goal of ending their current run, a home game against Bochum would likely be their first choice.

The team's return to the Bundesliga for the first time since the 2009-10 season has not started well, with the newcomers having won just once, early on against Mainz 05.

Thomas Reis's side have lost five of their seven games to this point and suffered a humiliating 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Bayern in September.

Their most recent Bundesliga fixture also ended in a toothless 3-0 loss against RB Leipzig, but they can at least take some confidence from beating Dutch side NEC 5-4 in a friendly during the international break.

Team News

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Greuther's talented defender Gideon Jung needs a knee operation and will be out for several months, joining Jessic Ngankam and Robin Kehr as long-term absences, with the pair recovering from ACL injuries.

Marius Funk has worked his way up to first-choice goalkeeper, ahead of the more experienced Sascha Burchert, while free transfer Jetro Willems, formerly of Newcastle, has nailed down the spot at left-back.

Maximilian Bauer suffered a head injury whilst playing for Germany Under-21s and will be assessed ahead of the game.

Bochum's Maxim Leitsch continues to struggle with a muscle injury, and so Erhan Masovic could step into defence if the former is deemed too big a risk.

He is one of many injuries for Reis to deal with - Simon Zoller is out for the season with an ACL injury, Herbert Bockhorn and Maxim Leitsch will be out for at least the rest of the month, and there are four other players who remain doubts with various afflictions.

Greuther Furth possible starting lineup:
Funk; Meyerhofer, Hoogma, Viergever, Willems; Green, Sarpei, Griesbeck, Seguin; Hrgota, Itter

VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Riemann; Soares, Lampropoulos, Bella-Kotchap, Kruse; Losilla, Rexhbecaj, Antwi-Adjei; Lowen, Holtmann; Polter

We say: Greuther Furth 2-1 VfL Bochum

This will likely be a tight match with both sides knowing how much is on the line in what is already a relegation six-pointer. We are backing Greuther to edge it, though, and earn their first ever Bundesliga win.