When VfL Bochum take on VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, they will be missing at least one player from the record championship-winning squad in Elvis Rexhbecaj.
It was a game for football romantics with great goals, a gripping course of play and a thrilling victory for the great underdog. Elvis Rexhbecaj also played his part in VfL Bochum’s 4-2 win over FC Bayern München – and not just because the midfielder took a cross that Dayot Upamecano blocked with his hand in violation of the rules and scored the penalty that made it 2-1 in the meantime. However, Rexhbecaj will miss out against VfB Stuttgart next Saturday.
Jersey tug on Sané – Rexhbecaj missing suspension
For tugging at Leroy Sané’s jersey, committing a tactical foul in the scene, the 24-year-old saw yellow. It was his fifth of the season. It is therefore clear that coach Thomas Reis will have to make changes to his record-winning team for the match at the bottom of the table.
With Rexhbecaj, one of the perennial favorites is missing
Rexhbecaj’s absence will not be easy to compensate for. After Anthony Losilla and Danilo Soares, the solid midfield leader is currently Bochum’s perennial favourite with the most minutes played in competitive matches. He has been in the starting eleven 21 times in the 22 league games so far, plus three appearances in the DFB Cup. Only in the 0:1 in Mainz in mid-January was he not part of the first-team squad, when he was substituted (and saw his fourth yellow card of the season in the final minute).
Rice looking for a new centre-back
When Reis dispensed with Rexhbecaj in the starting eleven in Mainz, Milos Pantovic and Eduard Löwen formed the Bochum centrepiece ahead of six-man Losilla. This triangle would now also be conceivable in Stuttgart. Patrick Osterhage also played well alongside Rexhbecaj against Bayern, but whether the 22-year-old, who made his sixth appearance of the season against Munich, will be allowed to start again against VfB will be decided by Reis in the course of the training week.
