Respective defeats for nearest rivals Schalke and Werder Bremen on the penultimate weekend of the season means Armin Veh's side now stands two points clear at the summit with just one game left to play.

Oliver Schroder put Bochum in front after only four minutes, and despite a close-range leveller from former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger midway through the first half, Marcel Maltritz handed the hosts a half-time lead with a low drive from fully 25 yards.

But substitute Mario Gomez marked his return from injury with a well-taken header just after the hour mark to again draw the away side level, before Cacau netted the winner 11 minutes later.

Victory against Energie Cottbus next weekend would see Stuttgart claim their first Bundesliga title since 1992.

Previous leaders Schalke are the only side who can snatch the title but it is now a big ask for the Gelsenkirchen outfit after their 2-0 defeat at local rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Werder Bremen are now out of the title running after their desperately disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt who thus secured their top-flight status, while outgoing champions Bayern Munich consolidated their fourth place finish with a 3-0 victory at Energie Cottbus.

At the wrong end of the table, Wolfsburg all-but secured their Bundesliga status with a 2-2 draw at Alemannia Aachen.

The result means, barring 14-goal victories, both Aachen and Mainz will be relegated on the final day, despite Mainz's 3-0 victory over 10-man Borussia Monchengladbach.

Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen secured a dramatic 3-2 victory at Hertha Berlin to strengthen their grip on a UEFA Cup place, Hamburg beat Nurnberg 2-0 and Arminia Bielefeld brushed aside Hannover 3-1.