Borussia Monchengladbach vs VfL Bochum Prediction: Home team to win

When VfL Bochum plays Borussia Monchengladbach at Borussia Park on Saturday afternoon, they will be attempting to avoid the dreaded relegation playoff berth. The Bundesliga underachievers are currently sitting in the bottom three with four games remaining on goal differential, while Borussia Monchengladbach is eight points above them in 10th place.

The host has had trouble lately, losing their last four games. Last week, Monchengladbach lost to Stuttgart 2-1, marking their second loss in as many games. 

Borussia Dortmund was held to a 1-1 draw at home last week by Bochum, a team that has lost its last five league games. Within the first seven minutes, both goals were scored. After the match, they slid to 16th place in the league, while Dortmund gave Bayern Munich the lead.

This will be a tricky game but a win is expected for the home side

Borussia Monchengladbach enters the contest on a three-match losing streak and has earned only one out of a possible nine points since beating Wolfsburg in early April.

Following a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt, the Foals lost 1-0 to high-flying Union Berlin before losing 2-1 to relegation contenders Stuttgart in their most recent match, with a late penalty awarded to the hosts as a result of Ko Itakura's red card.

In the grand scheme of things, Gladbach has only managed to win one of their last nine Bundesliga games, posting four draws and four losses in the process. However, Gladbach has had a lot of success lately at Borussia-Park, losing only one of their past six league games there while recording clean sheets against Schalke 04, Freiburg, and Wolfsburg.

Just four of their fifteen home league games this season have ended in losses, and they have won eight of those games. Hence, Borussia Monchengladbach will be optimistic about picking up another successful victory in front of their supporters this weekend. 

Marcus Thuram, a crucial forward for Borussia Monchengladbach, will be out for the foreseeable future due to a muscle injury, thus the Frenchman won't be able to add to his 16 goals and 6 assists this weekend. Itakura is suspended after receiving a red card the last time out. Kouadio Kone, Yvandro Borges Sanches, and Ramy Bensebaini are all suspended. 

The home team will continue to be led by Alassane Plea, with veteran winger Jonas Hofmann, who has 11 goals and 11 assists across all competitions this season, providing attacking support.

Borussia Monchengladbach's possible starting lineup:

Goalkeeper: Omlin; 

Defenders: Lainer, Friedrich, Elvedi, Netz; 

Midfielders: Weigl, Neuhaus; Ngoumou, Hofmann, Stindl; 

Striker: Plea

VfL Bochum, on the other hand, travels to Borussia Park after a remarkable 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund, despite having only 33% of the ball and facing 22 shots from the title contenders.

Karim Adeyemi tied the score for Dortmund two minutes after Anthony Losilla gave Bochum a startling lead, but Bochum was able to weather the storm and earn a crucial point.

Bochum is in the bottom three of the standings on goal differential with only four games left in the season, so every point is valuable at this juncture. Bochum can't complain about their current standing, either, since they have lost two of their last five games and have only won twice in their previous 11 games. They have also recorded three draws and two losses in those five games.

It's also important to keep in mind that Die Unabsteigbaren has the poorest defensive record in the division, having given up 67 goals in 30 games, while only Bochum's 33 goals have been scored this season.

With regards to Bochum's injury concern, backup goalkeeper Marko Johansson is still out with a muscular problem, and midfielder Philipp Forster appears to be out for the rest of the season owing to an Achilles tendon injury. Anthony Losilla, who scored against Dortmund the last time they played, will continue to play in the middle of the field with Patrick Osterhage, with Ivan Ordets and Erhan Masovic lining up at center defense.

VfL Bochum's possible starting lineup:

Goalkeeper: Riemann; 

Defenders: Gamboa, Ordets, Masovic, Soares; 

Midfielders: Losilla, Osterhage; Asano, Stoger, Antwi-Adjei; 

Striker: Hofmann

Monchengladbach has only defeated Bochum twice at home and has lost four of those contests. Despite this, they have won eight of their nine league games at home this year.

However, the last two games ended in a 1-1 draw. Bochum, meantime, has won all three of its away contests. Despite being winless in five league games, they have managed to score at least once.

Despite just having one victory in their last nine league games, Monchengladbach should benefit by playing at home. Given Bochum's dismal road record this season, the hosts ought to win.