On Saturday afternoon, Bochum and Mainz clash at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion as both teams look to make a winning start to the 2022/23 Bundesliga season.
The home side enjoyed a solid campaign back in the Bundesliga last season following promotion in the previous campaign. They steered clear of the relegation dogfight and finished 13th place in the table, 11 points clear of the automatic relegation spots.
It's always good to have a plan for the week, here's ours. 👀 #meinVfL #BOCM05 pic.twitter.com/tSbAjTGphn— VfL Bochum 1848 (@VfLBochum1848EN) August 1, 2022
It's always good to have a plan for the week, here's ours. 👀 #meinVfL #BOCM05 pic.twitter.com/tSbAjTGphn
Thomas Reis’ team has enjoyed a decent run of form in their most recent summer fixtures. A 3-0 win at Viktoria Berlin last time out in the DFB Pokal means they have won four of their previous five games.
Bochum finished last season’s Bundesliga campaign with a slightly inconsistent run, as they won two and lost three of their final five league games of the season. They also won just one of their final four home matches in the German top-flight last season.
Bo Svensson has seemingly stabilised Mainz and turned them into a solid midtable team. Last season the 05ers finished in eighth place in the Bundesliga table, just six points off the European spots. The visitors will be hoping to challenge for a continental spot this season.
Mainz have won three of their last five games in pre-season, including recording a 3-0 win at Erzgebirge Aue in the DFB Pokal last time out.
Although the visitor's form was relatively inconsistent towards the end of last season, Svensson’s team ended the campaign with a three-game unbeaten run.
If Mainz are to challenge for a European spot this season, then they will have to improve their away form, as they have won just one of their last 12 away matches in the German top-flight.
Forebet predicts that Bochum will record a victory in a high-scoring encounter to kick off the new league in a positive manner.