Bochum vs. VfB Stuttgart: DFB Cup LIVE blog and team news

VfB Stuttgart will look to bounce back from Sunday's Bundesliga defeat at Hamburg when they continue the defence of the DFB Cup trophy at Bundesliga 2 side Bochum on Wednesday (kick-off 6pm CET).

Bochum faced top-flight opposition in the previous round too, beating Augsburg 1-0 in Uwe Rösler's third game since taking over as head coach at the beginning of October.

While that result formed part of a five-game unbeaten run at the start of his tenure, a home defeat against Dynamo Dresden last week dampened momentum, before a 3-0 win at Greuther Fürth on Matchday 14 got them back to winning ways.

Watch: Hamburg 2-1 Stuttgart - highlights

Stuttgart, meanwhile, had their momentum checked by Hamburg on Matchday 12 as Fábio Vieira's goal deep into stoppage-time ended a run of four games without defeat for Sebastian Hoeneß's side. In Deniz Undav, though, the Swabians have a forward who is in red-hot form, with six goals in his last three league appearances alone.

"We need to be completely on our game in the DFB Cup on Wednesday and do all we can to win the tie," Undav said after the 2-1 defeat at the Volksparkstadion. "I'll carry my momentum in front of goal into that game, and I want to help the team by scoring goals in the next few games as well."

LIVE blog!

VS

Bochum

Wed, 03.12 17:00

Stuttgart

DFB Pokal
Round of 16 Round of 16 Vonovia Ruhrstadion

Sebastian Hoeneß on facing Bochum

"We're in for a real cup battle. Since Uwe Rösler took over as coach at Bochum, they're top of the second division in many statistics. There's a good mix of experienced and young players in the squad. It's a knockout game, so there are no second chances. Our clear aim is to reach the quarter-finals."

© IMAGO/Ralf Brueck

Early Stuttgart team news

Dan-Axel Zagadou, Luca Jaquez, Tiago Tomás, Yannik Keitel, Justin Diehl, and Ermedin Demirović will all miss this clash. Other than that, the Swabians have a full squad to choose from as they look to continue the defence of their title.

© IMAGO/Volker Mueller

Early Bochum team news

Ibrahima Sissoko marked his first start since August with a double in Bochum's 3-0 victory at Greuther Fürth on Saturday, but it remains to be seen whether the midfielder will feature in Uwe Rösler's starting XI against Stuttgart. Matúš Bero remains sidelined with an ankle injury, while Kevin Vogt is still recovering from knee surgery.

© IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Melanie Zink

Stuttgart - the story so far

The 2024/25 DFB Cup winners had Lady Luck on their side in the first round as they defeated Eintracht Braunschweig 8-7 on penalties following a remarkable 4-4 draw after extra time. They made light work of Mainz in the second round, though, triumphing 2-0 at the MEWA Arena.

© Alex Grimm

Bochum - the story so far

Bochum needed extra time to defeat Berliner FC Dynamo in the first round, eventually prevailing 3-1 against the fourth-tier side. They pulled off one of the results of the second round in late October, however, defeating top-flight Augsburg 1-0 thanks to Gerrit Holtmann's first-half strike.

© IMAGO/Lucca Fundel

Head-to-head

Stuttgart's 4-0 victory in April was their 44th win in 82 meetings with Bochum in all competitions. The most recent of the Ruhr outfit's 18 triumphs was a 1-0 win on Matchday 18 of the 2023/24 campaign.

© DFL/Getty Images/Alexander Scheuber

2:15

Watch: Greuther Fürth 0-3 Bochum

Bochum put three important points between them and second-bottom Greuther at the weekend with an impressive performance ahead of the visit of VfB.

Stuttgart form

Sunday's reverse at Hamburg ended a run of four games without defeat for Sebastian Hoeneß's side. They remain firmly in the race for a top-four spot, and only four points behind second-placed RB Leipzig.

© IMAGO/Julia Rahn

Bochum form

Bochum are currently on the up, having lost just one of their past seven games in all competitions. That run of form has lifted them up to 12th in the Bundesliga 2 standings.

© IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Wolfgang Zink

2:03

Watch: Bochum 0-4 Stuttgart - previous meeting

Stuttgart were victorious the last time these two met, in April earlier this year. Bochum were relegated to the second tier at the end of the campaign.

1:02

Watch: Hamburg 2-1 Stuttgart - highlights

At the weekend, Stuttgart suffered late heartbreak as they conceded a last-gasp strike against Hamburg.

Bochum dominant

An early blitz from Bochum against Greuther Fürth secured a 3-0 win at the weekend, with all three goals coming in the opening 20 minutes.

© IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Wolfgang Zink

Welcome!

Welcome and thank you for joining us for build-up and live coverage of the DFB Cup Round of 16 match between VfL Bochum and VfB Stuttgart. The game is scheduled to kick off at 6:00 p.m. CET on Wednesday.

About the clubs

VfL Bochum 1848

Vonovia Ruhrstadion

VfB Stuttgart

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