Hoffenheim vs. Mainz 05 preview: Visitors aiming to continue winning away run
Mainz 05 will look to continue their 100% away record when they travel to the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena to face Hoffenheim who are looking to claim their fourth win of the season.
Hoffenheim
André Breitenreiter has enjoyed a promising start to his tenure as Hoffenheim boss after guiding his side to three victories in their opening five league games.
The season began with a 3-1 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach, but they responded in impressive fashion by winning their next three matches. After beating Bochum, Bayer Leverkusen and Augsburg, Breitenreiter took his side to Dortmund last weekend.
However, Hoffenheim were unable to claim a fourth consecutive victory, with a 16th-minute strike Marco Reus proving enough to condemn the visitors to a 1-0 defeat. The loss leaves Hoffenheim in seventh place ahead of Saturday's contest, with one point separating them from Mainz, while they are only three points adrift of top spot.
Although they may have lost in their last outing, Hoffenheim will be confident they can claim three points on Saturday after winning both of their two home games this season.
Team News
Hoffenheim are expected to be without the services of Philipp Pentke, Benjamin Hübner and Ihlas Bebou due to injury issues.
Mainz 05
Mainz currently sit in fifth position after collecting 10 points from their opening five games. Their Bundesliga campaign began with a three-game unbeaten start before they were thrashed 3-0 by Bayer Leverkusen on matchday four.
Despite suffering a disappointing loss, Mainz issued an immediate response with a victory over Gladbach last weekend. A second half strike from Aarón Martín was all that was required for Mainz to claim three points and another away victory.
In fact, Saturday's visitors have won all four of their competitive away games this season and they will be confident of extending that run when they face a Hoffenheim side who they have beaten in the last three meetings.
Including last season, Mainz have only lost one of their last eight Bundesliga matches, and another positive result at the weekend could move the visitors into the top four.
Team News
Marcus Ingvartsen and Danny da Costa are both injured for the visitors, while Bo Svensson has disclosed that Anton Stach and Jae-Sung Lee are doubts for Saturday's contest.