Mainz 05 will hope to bounce back from defeat when they travel to face VfL Bochum at Ruhrstadion on Tuesday in the DFB-Pokal's second round.

The visitors suffered a 3-2 loss against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday, whereas the hosts come into their next clash having drawn 1-1 with Wolfsburg in the second tier on October 23.

Match preview

Bochum's season in the 2. Bundesliga has been disappointing, with the club in 14th place with just eight points after nine matchweeks.

Their stalemate with Wolfsburg saw them score just their sixth goal in the second tier, and it was the first time they found the back of the net at all in any of their last three games.

Manager Uwe Rosler has failed to guide his team to a victory in their five most recent fixtures, and a loss on Tuesday would be his side's fourth in six matches.

The hosts are not only winless in their past six meetings with Mainz, but they have also lost each of their last three encounters with the visitors, including when they were beaten 4-1 in May 2025.

A major concern for Rosler will be that Bochum have failed to win any of their five outings at home in 2026-27, suffering three losses.

Mainz's campaign has been positive, with the club in seventh place with 10 points after seven matchweeks, though they did suffer their second defeat in three games against Bremen.

Die Nullfunfer have been porous at the back having conceded 13 times in the Bundesliga, with all of those goals conceded in their last five top-flight contests.

The visitors only claimed nine points from their first 16 league fixtures in 2025-26, so despite their defensive struggles, they have still made significant progress.

Head coach Urs Fischer has experienced mixed success recently, as while his team did lose against Bremen, a victory on Tuesday would be their third in five games.

Mainz's record away from has been perfect this season given they have triumphed in all four clashes on the road, scoring 19 goals, though half of those strikes came in their 9-0 victory against Krieschow in the DFB-Pokal's first round on August 23.

VfL Bochum DFB-Pokal form:

VfL Bochum form (all competitions):

Mainz 05 DFB-Pokal form:

Mainz 05 form (all competitions):

Team News

If Bochum use the same 4-2-3-1 system that they deployed earlier in the DFB-Pokal, perhaps fans will see centre-backs Michael Steinwender and Karol Mets stationed behind Mats Pannewig and Tom Meyer.

Striker Philipp Hofmann could be supported by attacking midfielder Berkan Taz, as well as wingers Koji Miyoshi and Christian Rasmussen.

As for Mainz, they could field a similar lineup to the one that started in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, though with defender Dominik Kohr out until January, Danny da Costa, Stefan Posch and Kacper Potulski could feature in defence.

It would be surprising to see regulars like Kaishu Sano or Jae-Sung Lee in midfield, with Eric Martel and Paul Nebel likely inclusions instead.

In the frontline, Benedict Hollerbach and Ransford Konigsdorffer could start in order to give Sheraldo Becker and Phillip Tietz a break from the intense demands of first-team football.

VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:

Horn; Klaiber, Steinwender, Mets, Wittek; Meyer, Pannewig; Miyoshi, Taz, Rasmussen; Hofmann

Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:

Zentner; Da Costa, Posch, Potulski; Widmer, Nebel, Martel, Amiri, Mwene; Konigsdorffer, Hollerbach

We say: VfL Bochum 1-3 Mainz 05

Despite the inconsistencies of Mainz in the Bundesliga, anything other than a comfortable away win would be surprising.

Bochum could threaten the visitors' backline, especially as their opponents have been vulnerable of late, but they should not be expected to get the better of a top-flight side.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.