Mainz 05 vs. FC Köln preview: Hosts searching for first home victory
Mainz will attempt to claim their first home win of the season on Friday when they face an FC Köln side who are looking to record consecutive victories.
Mainz 05
Mainz will head into Friday's contest in a confident mood as they look to claim a third consecutive victory in all competitions.
Bo Svensson's side ended a four-game winless run when they faced Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga last weekend. Goals from Marcus Ingvartsen and Lee Jae-sung helped Mainz claim a 2-0 victory that leaves them in 11th place ahead of their meeting with Köln.
Mainz followed their impressive result against Bremen with another fine performance in midweek as they thrashed Lübeck 3-0 in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.
After clinching consecutive victories, Mainz will now look to continue their winning run on Friday. Despite sitting in the bottom half of the table, the hosts would move into the top four with a win.
However, their home form this season suggests that picking up all three points may prove to be a difficult task. Although three of their four games at the MEWA Arena this season have finished all square, they are still searching for their first home win of the season.
After scoring two goals across their opening four home matches, Mainz need to improve in the final third if they are to beat Köln.
Team News
Maxim Leitsch, Silvan Widmer and Marlon Mustapha are expected to miss out for the hosts through injury, while Stefan Bell is also a doubt for Friday's contest.
FC Köln
Köln will be aiming to claim a second straight victory after ending a run of three consecutive defeats in all competitions with a 3-2 victory over Augsburg last weekend.
Steffen Tigges and Denis Huseinbašić gave Köln a 2-1 lead following Florian Niederlechner's opener, but Augsburg restored parity through Daniel Caligiuri before Tigges scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 81st minute.
As a result of the victory, Steffen Baumgart's side are currently sat in seventh place, and a win on Friday would move them up to third position.
However, Köln's recent away form does not offer much inspiration, with the visitors winless in their previous four competitive games on their travels. They have also lost seven of their last 11 Bundesliga away games against Mainz.
Köln can at least take confidence from the fact they have avoided defeat in four of their five away games in the league this season, while they have also scored in all five of those contests.
Team News
Tim Lemperle, Mathias Olesen and Julian Chabot are both sidelined with ankle injuries, while Dejan Ljubicic and Sebastian Andersson will also miss out.