Swansea City face VfL Bochum 1848 today in a pre season friendly at the Fussballplatz Mittersill in Mittersill, Austria, with the match shaping up as a useful test of how far their preparations have come. It is the second of three games Swansea are playing in Austria over one week, and it comes after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Holstein Kiel in Kufstein.
Bochum arrive with a stronger recent edge in the build-up. Under Uwe Rösler, they were turned around after relegation last season and finished ninth, and they have already beaten Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and Antwerp while drawing with Ajax. That makes Bochum a more advanced opponent than Swansea have faced so far on this trip, which is exactly why this meeting matters.
What the game means for Swansea
For Swansea, the value of this match is less about the result and more about the level of the challenge. The club are still working through transfer uncertainty around Zân Vipotnik, Elijah Just, left-back cover and Bianchini, while Gonçalo Franco was reported injured eight days ago. Those situations leave room for changes in the squad picture, and games like this help show which players are ready to take on bigger roles.
Samuel Bamba is another name in the wider background after spending most of last season on loan at Willem II Tilburg, while Ibrahim Sissoko’s move to Saint-Étienne instead of Swansea City a few seasons ago remains part of the club’s recent transfer story. None of that changes the immediate task, though: Swansea need to cope with an opponent that has had a clearer run of results and, on paper, looks further along in its summer work.
After today, Swansea are due to face Udinese Calcio on Friday, which means the Austria trip will quickly move from one strong checkpoint to the next. For Vitor Matos and his squad, Bochum should provide a cleaner read on where the team stands physically, tactically and in terms of depth before the next stage of pre season continues.
