VfL Bochum host Mainz 05 at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion in Bochum, Germany, on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, with kickoff at 18:00 WAT in the DFB Pokal, Round 2. It is a cup tie between a 2. Bundesliga side and a Bundesliga side, and the visitors arrive as favourites after a dominant recent record in this fixture.
This VfL Bochum vs Mainz 05 prediction is interesting to bet on because the form lines point in different directions: Bochum are struggling for wins in the league, while Mainz have been involved in high-scoring games and have repeatedly beaten Bochum in recent meetings. That contrast makes the away win, the goals markets and both teams to score all worth considering.
VfL Bochum vs Mainz 05 Match Preview / Betting Preview
Team Recent Form
VfL Bochum, form D-L-L-L-D (2. Bundesliga, league games only, most recent first):
- 23 Oct 2026: Bochum 1-1 Wolfsburg
- 17 Oct 2026: Kaiserslautern 2-0 Bochum
- 11 Oct 2026: Bochum 0-1 Arminia Bielefeld
- 20 Sep 2026: Hannover 2-1 Bochum
- 12 Sep 2026: Bochum 1-1 Greuther Furth
Bochum are 14th in the 2. Bundesliga with 8 points after 9 games. In Round 1, Bochum beat Greuther Furth 2-1 away.
Mainz 05, form L-W-L-W-L (Bundesliga, league games only, most recent first):
- 24 Oct 2026: Mainz 2-3 Werder Bremen
- 17 Oct 2026: Schalke 0-1 Mainz
- 10 Oct 2026: Mainz 3-4 Bayer Leverkusen
- 19 Sep 2026: Borussia Monchengladbach 3-4 Mainz
- 12 Sep 2026: Mainz 1-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
Mainz are 7th in the Bundesliga with 10 points after 7 games. In Round 1, Mainz beat VfB Krieschow 9-0 away.
Key Stats
- Mainz have won 14 of the teams’ 24 meetings.
- Bochum are winless in their past six meetings with Mainz and have lost the last three.
- Mainz won the most recent meeting 4-1, at Bochum, on 10 May 2025.
1-3: Mainz are favourites for this DFB Pokal tie, Bochum are winless in their past six meetings with Mainz, and the recent meetings between the sides have produced goals, so an away win by two goals is the correct-score prediction.
VfL Bochum vs Mainz 05 H2H
- 10 May 2025: Bochum 1-4 Mainz
- 11 Jan 2025: Mainz 2-0 Bochum
- 16 Mar 2024: Mainz 2-0 Bochum
- 27 Oct 2023: Bochum 2-2 Mainz
Pre Game Odds
Pre-match snapshot, named source Wincomparator best-odds footer. Odds will move.
- VfL Bochum: 4.75
- Draw: 4.10
- Mainz 05: 1.77
Team News VfL Bochum
Bochum are without the following players through injury, according to FotMob: Philipp Strompf, Oliver Olsen, Enis Cokaj, Babis Drakas and Jean Manuel Mbom. No Bochum suspension was found.
Team News Mainz 05
Mainz are without the following players through injury, according to FotMob: Robin Zentner, Silvan Widmer, Dominik Kohr (out until January), Eric Martel, Paul Nebel and Silas Katompa Mvumpa. Otto Ruoppi’s status for this tie is unresolved. No Mainz suspension was found.
Predicted Lineups
All lineups below are predicted, not confirmed.
VfL Bochum predicted XI (Sports Mole, 4-2-3-1): Horn; Klaiber, Steinwender, Mets, Wittek; Meyer, Pannewig; Miyoshi, Taz, Rasmussen; Hofmann.
Mainz 05 predicted lineup: Expected core – Alexander Schwolow in goal (per OneFootball, Zentner out); Danny da Costa, Stefan Posch, Kacper Potulski in defence; Nadiem Amiri and Philipp Mwene in midfield; Benedict Hollerbach and Ransford Konigsdorffer up front (Sports Mole notes Becker and Tietz are rested). Remaining midfield places are subject to late fitness checks.
Note: Sports Mole’s published Mainz XI is unreliable for this tie because it includes four players FotMob lists as injured: Zentner, Widmer, Nebel and Martel. It is not published as-is above.
VfL Bochum vs Mainz 05 Betting Tips
Tip 1 – Result: Mainz 05 Win. Mainz are favourites, have won 14 of the teams’ 24 meetings and have won the last three meetings.
Tip 2 – Over-Under 2.5: Over 2.5 Goals. Recent meetings and Mainz’s recent league games have produced goals.
Tip 3 – BTTS Yes-No: Both Teams to Score – Yes. Bochum have scored in their recent home league games listed above, and Mainz’s recent games have featured goals at both ends.
VfL Bochum vs Mainz 05 prediction summary
This VfL Bochum vs Mainz 05 prediction backs Mainz 05 Win, Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams to Score – Yes, for the DFB Pokal tie at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion.
See more previews on Sports Buddy, and the named odds source is Wincomparator.
