Mainz will be looking for their first victory of 2016 as they face a very stern test in Borussia Monchengladbach at the Coface Arena. However, Gladbach will be looking for their first win of the second half as well in what should be an intriguing battle.
A win for the visitors will be absolutely crucial as this will allow them to keep pace with Hertha BSC while getting a little space between them and Bayer Leverkusen who are just a point behind them in fifth. Mainz, meanwhile, cannot afford to drop any more points because the middle of the Bundesliga table is extremely congested and could fall down a couple of spots if things do not go their way on the pitch.
Form
Mainz have not had the best of campaigns so far, struggling off and on and sit in the eight spot in the Bundesliga table. With 18 matches played, there have only been seven wins and eight losses. Their goal differential is also not very good as well, giving up one more goal than they have scored and are the only side in the top half of the table with a negative goal differential.
To start the new year, Mainz traveled to Ingolstadt and were handed a 1-0 defeat. Mainz had three shots on target, five total, yet a lone penalty in the 41st caused them to lose all three points. Other than the score line, they played fairly decent but needed to create a few more chances in the final third of the pitch.
After a slow start to the season, Andre Schubert’s side has come on lately and find themselves back in a Champions League spot, only four points behind Hertha BSC who sit in third. One thing that definitely needs to turn around is their defense. Gladbach has let in the third highest amount of goals in the league with 33 getting past their goalkeepers.
In the battle of the Borussia’s, Dortmund came out the victor, winning 1-3 at the Stadion im BORUSSIA-PARK. Dortmund blistered Yann Sommer’s goal, getting seven shots on target throughout the 90 minutes. Mainz will certainly be a far easier opponent then the one they faced last week, but will still need to focus throughout or Gladbach will be punished.
Key players
Yunus Malli is by far the biggest threat for Mainz, creating chance after chance for his side off of the left part of the pitch. He leads the team in goals with eight and one assist but creates a little over two shots per game and provides one key pass each match.
At 30 years of age, Raffael is in spectacular form. He is the leading goal scorer and does not seem to be slowing down any time soon. The Brazilian has found the back of the net seven times so far which is eight off of his career best.
Prediction
M’Gladbach will come away with the three points. They will be extremely motivated after their loss to Dortmund and will look to get back on the right track by pressuring from the get-go, looking to create turnovers and control the match in the final third as often as they can. On the other hand, Mainz’ only chances will more than likely come on the counter attack, using the speed of Malli and the finishing prowess of Muto to get on the score sheet.