Wolfsburg vs Mainz preview: Can the 05ers complete the relegation escape?
Wolfsburg
With a loss last weekend to Bayern, Wolfsburg pretty much ended their chances of securing European football. Still, Ralph Hasenhüttl looks to be steadily improving a side that now have some confidence heading into next season.
Due to several injuries, the green company club are thin at the six position, meaning Ridle Baku could play in midfield alongside Maximilian Arnold. Fans are already looking ahead to the summer in what will likely be a busy transfer window for the cash-flush side.
Hasenhüttl commented, “Mainz football has always been about passion, pressing and running intensity. Bo Henriksen has revived that in a very emotional way. We have to find solutions and answers to that. I need players who are hungry for that.”
Team News
Aster Vranckx, Rogerio, Lukas Nmecha, Yannick Gerhardt and Matthias Svanberg are expected to be unavailable.
Mainz
It’s been quite a turnaround for Bo Henriksen’s men, who destroyed Dortmund on Matchday 33 and looked destined to go down just a couple months ago. Now, with a point on Saturday, they will play a 16th consecutive season of first division football.
They’ll be paying close attention to the Union/Freiburg game. With a Union win and a Mainz loss, the 05ers will fall into the relegation playoff spot. No lineup changes are expected to be made on Saturday for a side without a defeat in their last eight league games.
If Mainz are able to survive, the key turning point will be their 8-1 loss to Bayern on March 9th. They haven’t lost since.
Henriksen stated, “I told the boys straight after the Dortmund game that we've not won anything yet. We're going into the last game with full focus. - We've created this situation for ourselves and we now want to get the job done on our own.”
Team News
Maxim Leitsch and Karim Onisiwo are both unlikely to feature.