Mainz 05 vs. Bayern Munich preview: Winless hosts face unbeaten visitors
Mainz 05 will attempt to claim their first victory of the season when they face Bayern Munich on Saturday.
The visitors, meanwhile, are looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the Bundesliga campaign.
The visitors, meanwhile, are looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the Bundesliga campaign.
Mainz 05
Mainz head into the weekend in the relegation zone after picking up just two points from their opening seven league matches. After losing four consecutive games, Bo Svensson’s side were on course to claim maximum points in their most recent outing against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Goals from Brajan Gruda and Aymen Barkok helped Mainz establish a 2-1 lead, but Joe Scally’s 88th-minute equaliser resulted in the spoils being shared, ensuring the wait for a win goes on for die Nullfünfer.
In fact, Mainz have failed to win a Bundesliga game since their previous meeting with Bayern in April. On that occasion, die Nullfünfer came from a goal down to beat Bayern 3-1, with the result representing Mainz’s third consecutive home league win over the Bavarians.
However, since beating Thomas Tuchel’s side earlier this year, Mainz have gone on to draw three and lose nine of their next 12 league matches. Having conceded at least two goals in 11 of those games, Saturday’s hosts need to improve defensively if they are to enjoy another successful home outing against the reigning champions.
Team News
Jonathan Burkardt and Phillipp Mwene will miss out with knee injuries. The hosts are also expected to be without the services of Maxim Leitsch, Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Nelson Weiper, while Karim Onisiwo is a doubt for Saturday's contest.
Anwar El Ghazi, who recently joined Mainz on a free transfer, has been indefinitely suspended by the club for a social media post about the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Bayern Munich
After losing to RB Leipzig in the DFL-Supercup, Bayern have put together a 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W8, D2). In their most recent outing, the Bavarians eased to a 3-0 home victory over Freiburg thanks to a Kingsley Coman brace and a Leroy Sané strike. The result moved Bayern’s point tally onto 17 points, leaving them in third place ahead of matchday eight.
Alongside Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, Tuchel’s charges are one of three teams yet to lose in the Bundesliga this season. They are also the joint-highest scorers in the league after netting 23 goals in their seven matches. They will be looking to showcase their firepower against a Mainz side that currently shares the worst defensive record with Bochum and Darmstadt.
Having lost their three Bundesliga away meetings with Mainz, Bayern will be looking to claim their first league victory at the MEWA Arena since recording a 3-1 victory in February 2020.
Team News
The visitors are still unable to call upon the services of Serge Gnabry, Raphael Guerreiro, Dayot Upamecano and Noussair Mazraoui, while Tuchel has revealed that Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka are doubts.
Manuel Neuer is closing in on a return to action, but Saturday's contest will come too soon for the goalkeeper.