📏 Form Guide

Karlsruhe

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Karlsruhe prepare for this game following on from a 2-2 Bundesliga 2 drawn game vs SC Paderborn 07.

In that match, Karlsruhe had 51% possession and 7 attempts at goal with 4 of them on target. For Karlsruhe, the scorers were Fabian Schleusener (75') and Shio Fukuda (79'). At the other end, Paderborn 07 had 19 shots at goal with 6 on target. Filip Bilbija (20') and Sebastian Klaas (85') scored for SC Paderborn 07.

Matches involving Karlsruhe have often been engaging ones lately with a lot of goalmouth action anticipated. Over their past half dozen clashes alone, the sum of 20 goals have been scored for both sides combined (at an average of 3.33 goals per game) with 9 of these accredited to Karlsruhe. We will find out if that trend will end up being continued on in this game.

Coming into this meeting, Karlsruhe have not lost a league tie with VfL Bochum in their previous 2 matches.

VfL Bochum

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In their last fixture, VfL Bochum drew 1-1 in the Bundesliga 2 match with Hannover.

In that game, VfL Bochum managed 41% possession and 10 attempts at goal with 2 on target. The only player on the scoresheet for VfL Bochum was Farid Alfa-Ruprecht (55'). Hannover 96 had 10 attempts on goal with 1 of them on target. Maik Nawrocki (50') scored for Hannover.

The stats tell the story, and VfL Bochum have been scored against in 6 of their last 6 games, seeing opposing sides hit 10 goals in total. At the back, VfL Bochum have been far from perfect.

Looking at their past form shows that VfL Bochum:

• remain undefeated by Karlsruhe in away games against them for the last 3 league games.
• are without a win away from home in their last 8 matches in the league. Their travelling support will be needed here, for sure.

↔️ Head to head

Looking at the statistics for their head to head duels stretching back to 05/02/2017, there has been little between the sides with Karlsruhe winning 1 of those games, VfL Bochum 1 and 4 being draws after 90 minutes of play.

A total of 16 goals were scored between the two sides in this period, with 8 of them for Karlsruhe and 8 netted by Bochum. This gives an average number of goals per game equal to 2.67.

The previous league contest between the two was Bundesliga 2 match day 17 on 20/12/2025 when it ended VfL Bochum 2-2 Karlsruhe.

On that day, VfL Bochum had 37% possession and 11 attempts at goal with 4 of them on target. Their only player to score was Francis Onyeka (35', 69').

Karlsruhe had 11 shots on goal with 6 on target. Marvin Wanitzek (47') and Shio Fukuda (86') scored.

The match was refereed by Marc-Philipp Eckermann.

ℹ️ Team News: Karlsruhe

Lilian Egloff (Torn muscle fiber), Eymen Laghrissi (Shoulder injury), Stephan Ambrosius (Cruciate ligament tear) and Marcel Beifus (Cartilage damage) are not available for Karlsruhe boss Christian Eichner.

It’s our opinion that Karlsruhe will probably employ a 3-3-2-2 formation, handing starts to H. Christian Bernat, Paul Scholl, Marcel Franke, Nicolai Rapp, Sebastian Jung, Dzenis Burnic, David Herold, Philipp Foerster, Marvin Wanitzek, Fabian Schleusener and Shio Fukuda.

📰 Team News: VfL Bochum

VfL Bochum boss Uwe Rösler has to choose a team with limited availability. Mats Pannewig (Shin injury), Mikkel Rakneberg (Meniscus damage), Philipp Strompf (Inflammation of pubic bone) and Maximilian Wittek (Hamstring injury) are those who can’t be considered.

We’re of the thinking that Bochum seem most likely to make use of a 4-2-3-1 lineup, choosing Timo Horn, Leandro Morgalla, Erhan Masovic, Noah Loosli, Oliver Olsen, Matus Bero, Kjell Waetjen, Farid Alfa-Ruprecht, Francis Onyeka, Gerrit Holtmann and Philipp Hofmann.

✨ Prediction

It’s looking like VfL Bochum and Karlsruhe are both more than capable of scoring here.

Let’s see what happens, but it could well be that we get quite a few goals with scores finishing level. We’re therefore seeing a high-scoring affair with a 2-2 score at the end of the 90 minutes.

Peter Guest, 13:04 17/05/2026