Schalke 04 vs. Mainz 05 preview: Hosts searching for first home win

Schalke 04

Schalke are sitting in 13th spot after winning one, drawing two and losing two of their opening five league matches. Miron Muslić’s side went three games without defeat before falling to a narrow 2-1 defeat to 10-man Freiburg last weekend. The two sides went into the break on level terms after Kenan Karaman cancelled out Maximilian Eggestein’s opener. Schalke were then given a boost when Yuito Suzuki was dismissed for two bookable offences just after the hour mark. However, they ultimately failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage as Freiburg’s Keisuke Goto snatched the spoils with an 85th-minute winner.

After losing for the second time in three away games, Schalke will return to Veltins-Arena for Saturday’s meeting with Mainz. The hosts are still searching for their first win on home turf this season after playing out goalless draws against Bayern Munich and Elversberg in their first two home matches. While they may be the only team yet to score at home this term, they are also one of three teams that have yet to concede in front of their supporters, along with Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig.

Schalke may be able to take inspiration from the fact they have won their last two matches against Mainz as part of a five-game unbeaten run in head-to-head meetings. 

Team News

Moussa Sylla is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury in the defeat to Freiburg. The hosts are also without the services of Justin Heekeren, Dejan Ljubičić, Johannes Siebeking and Emil Højlund.

Click here to see the predicted Schalke lineup for this fixture.

Mainz 05

Mainz head into matchday six in eighth position after taking seven points from their first five matches. Die Nullfünfer failed to add to their points tally last weekend as they fell short in a 4-3 home defeat against Leverkusen. Anthony Caci netted a first-half brace to cancel out Leverkusen’s first two goals, but Mainz soon found themselves facing another two-goal deficit following efforts from Jarell Quansah and Moussa Diaby. 

While Benedict Hollerbach pulled a goal back in stoppage time, it proved too little too late as Mainz suffered back-to-back home defeats. The result also made it six consecutive home league games without a win since they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 in March.

With that in mind, Urs Fischer’s side will be looking forward to heading on their travels this weekend, especially as they are one of two teams that boast a perfect away record in the Bundesliga. They have also scored more goals than any team on the road after hammering Hamburg 5-0 at Volksparkstadion and prevailing by a 4-3 scoreline against Borussia Mönchengladbach at Borussia-Park.

If they are to maintain their 100% away record, Mainz will need to beat Schalke for the first time since running out 3-0 winners at the Mewa Arena in February 2019. Meanwhile, their last victory at the Veltins-Arena took place in the DFB-Pokal in December 2019. 

Team News

Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner remains sidelined with a hand injury. Fischer is also without Dominik Kohr, Otto Ruoppi and Silas. 

Click here to see the predicted Mainz lineup for this fixture.