Mainz vs. Bayern Munich preview: Team news and predicted lineups
Fresh off a comfortable 5-0 win over Bochum, Bayern Munich travel to Mainz for a DFB-Pokal second round match on Wednesday night.
It was at this stage of the tournament that the Bavarians were shockingly eliminated from the competition last season by 3. Liga side Saarbrücken.
This year, naturally, the Bavarians are hoping for a much better cup run under new coach Vincent Kompany.
“Last year was disappointing. Our goal is to win tomorrow, to get to Berlin. Anything can happen in the cup. We need to be ready for that tomorrow. We want to progress,” said Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund at Bayern's pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
Bo Henriksen's side will certainly be hoping for a better result than the 8-1 thrashing they received when they last met Bayern in March.
So far this season, Mainz have won two Bundesliga games this season, neither of which have been at home.
Most recently, Die Nullfünfer took the lead against Gladbach in the Bundesliga, but were held to a draw after Tim Kleindienst's equaliser.
Mainz suffered a major injury blow in that game when star striker Jonathan Burkardt went off with an injury that will keep him out of the match against Bayern, along with defender Andreas Hanche-Olsen. Midfield talisman Nadiem Amiri picked up a knock and is a big doubt.
Bayern have no new injury concerns as long-term absentees Sacha Boey, Hiroki Ito, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Josip Stanisic are still out.
