Mainz Aiming to Move Clear of the Relegation Zone
This weeks Friday night offering in the Bundesliga sees Mainz welcome Wolfsburg to the OPEL Arena.
This is a battle between two teams in the bottom half of the table and Mainz will be hoping to win the game to move 9 points clear of the automatic relegation zone and out of the relegation playoff place.
Wolfsburg start the match in 14th place but are just 1 point clear of Mainz. They could drop down one place and could easily find themselves in the bottom three if other results go against them. So, there is all to play for in this match.
Trends show Mainz have not won back to back Bundesliga matches for almost 18 months and they will need to change that if they are to avoid finishing inside the relegation zone. They enjoyed a great result last week, defeating Hertha Berlin 2-0 away and need to build on that this weekend.
Mainz have won only two of their last eleven league games, with the other win coming at home to Stuttgart on the 20th January. However, following that match Mainz lost three Bundesliga games before defeating Hertha Berlin last week and that sums up their form this season.
At home, Mainz have won two and lost three of their last five home Bundesliga games and they have conceded 9 goals across their last four at the OPEL Arena, at an average of 2.25 goals per game.
Wolfsburg come into this match having lost 2-1 at home to Bayern Munich last weekend. It looked as though they were going to take at least a point from the defending champions but were denied by a late goal.
That result means Wolfsburg have failed to win any of their last four games in all competitions, with one draw and two defeats in the Bundesliga plus a loss in the German Cup.
Trends show Wolfsburg have been in poor form and they have won only one of their last eleven games in all competitions and just four of their last twenty-four. Away from home, Wolfsburg have won one of their last twelve competitive games, which came at Hannover in the Bundesliga on the 28th January.
Wolfsburg have failed to score a goal in five of their last seven away matches.
Team news and Mainz are still without Rene Adler and Levin Oztunali and it remains to be seen when both players will return to the team. Danny Latza is suspended in the German Cup but available for Bundesliga games.
Wolfsburg have a huge injury list and some of the players set to miss this match include Sebastian Jung, Paul Verhaegh, John Brooks, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Ignacio Camacho among others. Midfielder Max Arnold is suspended.
This has the makings of a very close game and goals could be at a premium meaning we see a low scoring draw come the final whistle.
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