Mainz 05 vs. Werder Bremen: Preview, team news & predicted lineups

Mainz 05 

Mainz’s campaign has started disastrously. With just one win from eight Bundesliga outings, they sit 16th in the table - only ahead of Heidenheim and Borussia Mönchengladbach. This side looks a shadow of the one that secured European football last season, and Henriksen appears short on solutions as he continues to persist with the same system, much to supporters’ frustration.

After losing 2-1 away to Stuttgart in the league, Mainz were handed an immediate shot at revenge in the DFB-Pokal just three days later. But a familiar story unfolded at home - individual errors and a blunt attack saw them slump to another defeat, this time 0-2, and crash out of the cup.

The 05ers are on a streak of four league losses in a row, though the alarm bells are ringing loudest at the Mewa Arena, where Mainz have lost all four of their league fixtures this season. Considering they were beaten only three times at home throughout the whole of last campaign, it’s an early sign of serious decline.

Paul Nebel summed up the team’s mood after the Pokal exit:

“Everyone gave it their all and pushed hard, but we made individual mistakes and were too wasteful in attack. That's why we deserved to lose. We have a fantastic team that wants to give something back to the fans. Maybe we feel a bit too tense mentally sometimes. We'll keep trying, work hard and try to make fewer mistakes.”

Team news: 

Anthony Caci and Maxim Dal remain the only absentees. Danny da Costa is likely to return after rotation in midweek, while Henriksen is expected to freshen up his front line.

Werder Bremen 

After a shaky start under Horst Steffen - one win from the opening five matches and 14 goals conceded - Werder appear to have found some rhythm. They’re unbeaten in their last three, winning two of those by a single goal, underlining their growing defensive organisation.

Last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Union Berlin showcased that progress. A Marco Grüll strike sealed the points as Bremen controlled possession and restricted Union to zero big chances created - something that would have pleased Steffen as his side climbed to 11th. Unlike Mainz, Werder enjoyed a full week’s rest after their Pokal exit in August, which could give them a physical edge.

Werder have benefitted from goals coming from across the team, with five players already netting twice each - contributing 10 of their 12 league goals so far. That collective threat will be crucial for Steffen’s side as they look to continue climbing the table and further adapt to the coach’s preferred style of play.

Steffen has urged his players to maintain their recent standards:

“We need to reach our own performance limit; then we have a good chance of getting three points against Mainz. If we don't even come close to that, then we'll lose. The trend in training this week has been good. But it will come down to the little things again this weekend.”

Team news: 

Felix Agu, Mitchell Weiser, Olivier Deman and Maximilian Wöber are all unavailable. Isaac Schmidt is an option to return to the lineup after recovering from injury. 

H-2-H record 

Werder have had the upper hand in recent meetings, winning the last four clashes between the sides. Mainz haven’t beaten Bremen at home in their last four attempts. Horst Steffen, however, has lost both of his previous encounters with Mainz as a coach.

Predicted lineups 

Mainz 05 (3-4-2-1): Zentner (GK) - da Costa, Hanche-Olsen, Kohr - Nordin, Sano, Amiri, Mwene - Nebel, Hollerbach - Weiper 

Werder Bremen (4-2-3-1): Backhaus (GK) - Sugawara, Pieper, Coulibaly, Friedl - Lynen, Stage - Grüll, Schmid, Mbangula - Boniface