Arminia Bielefeld had been unable to pull themselves out of the relegation play-off since late November, until a 1-0 win over Hertha BSC on Matchday 15 signalled a small but significant shift up the table. The promoted side have stayed in 15th spot since then and are in safety, for now at least.
Bielefeld have also kept three consecutive clean sheets and have only conceded one goal since the turn of the year – fewer than any other Bundesliga team. With 10 points from their last five league matches, the underdogs are in good form, as underlined by their 3-0 win over VfB Stuttgart in midweek.
Eintracht are not suffering from a lack of confidence, either. “At the moment we’re confident everywhere we go. The opposition know what to expect: a tough-tackling but also technically strong team,” described midfielder Amin Younes.
Sebastian Rode remains a doubt with a knee problem, although the midfielder is training individually again. Aymen Barkok will definitely miss out after the Morocco international was shown his fifth booking of the season at Freiburg on Wednesday.
Sporting director Bruno Hübner is aware of the threat that the hosts carry: “Arminia are well away from the automatic relegation places and are keeping their heads above water.” With both sides in confident mood, it’s just a question of who will justify that on Saturday afternoon.
Match info
Kick-off: Saturday 23 January, 15:30 CET, Matchday 18 , Bundesliga 2020/21.
Stadium: SchücoArena, Bielefeld.
