The Mainz team ended the three-game undefeated streak last weekend with a 0:2 road loss in Gelsenkirchen by Schalke 04 and now they’ll try to bounce back at home against in-form Eagles from Frankfurt. The Eintracht squad on the other side started its own undefeated streak three weeks ago and managed to keep it alive with a 2:2 home draw against current leader Borussia Dortmund last Saturday. They’ve recorded more points in last three rounds than in first six.
Two teams that have only three draws in 16 games combined are set to square off in what is expected to be a very interesting showdown, and having in mind our goal of determining possible outcomes, we surely won’t miss it so let’s take a closer look.
Mainz 05 vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Three-Way: 1: Mainz 05 +177; X: +231 Draw; 2: Eintracht Frankfurt +195 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread 0: Mainz 05 -110; Eintracht Frankfurt +106
Total +2.5: Over +129; Under -133
MAINZ 05
Every good run must come to an end sooner or later but I’m sure that many Mainz team’ fans would agree that it could’ve lasted a bit longer than three games. Easy 2:0 loss in Gelsenkirchen on Friday was their fifth defeat of the season and now they’ll try to start another positive streak in order to get back on the track of winning ways.
They currently rank 12th in the league table with 10 points in nine games and a 3-1-5 record. At home, they are 3-0-2 with no “splitting points” game so far. Their overall goal difference is 10-15 (9-7 at home) and 44% of their matches had over 2.5 goals in total while 60% of their home games had over 3.5 goals in total. They are 3-0-1 in last four matchups at home with two consecutive wins over Hamburger SV (3:2) and Hertha Berlin (1:0). They’ve managed to score at least one goal in both halves in 22% of their games while they also managed to concede at least one goal in both halves in 44% of their total duels. Both teams scored in 44% of Mainz’s matchups.
Coach Sandro Schwarz prefers the 3-4-2-1 scheme for now with Balogun, Bell, and Diallo in front of goalie Adler. Donati, Gbamin, Latza, and Brosinski usually operate in front of the aforementioned trio with certain defensive tasks while Oztunali, De Blasis and Muto have strictly attacking assignments up front. Yoshinori Muto and Danny Latza are the team’s leading scorers with three and two goals while Stefan Bell, Pablo De Blasis, Abdou Diallo, Alexandru Maxim and Suat Serdar all have one each in their accounts. Levin Oztunali collected team-high four assists while Daniel Brosinski has two. Brosinski and Latza also hold the passing segment under their control with 291 and 287 total passes. Goalie Rene Adler has 116 shots against, 22 saves and one game with a clean sheet while Stefan Bell has four yellow cards and presents the most undisciplined player so far. No Mainz player has yet been sent off.
Karim Onisiwo (shoulder) should be available in mid-January while Leon Balogun’s (broken cheekbone) and Gerrit Holtmann’s (calf) status is unknown. Alexander Hack (muscle), Niko Bungert (thigh) and Aaron Seydel (knee) are all listed as day to day while Gaetan Bussman (groin) is back in training.
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT
Two wins over Stuttgart at home (2:1) and over Hannover 96 on the road (2:1) along with last week’s 2:2 home draw with leader Borussia Dortmund are the clean indicator of solid performances by the Eagles lately and a positive result on the road this Friday would represent the longest undefeated streak of the season for the team. Against the Yellow-Blacks they were two goals behind after 57 minutes of play but two swift goals by Haller and Wolf in the span of four minutes sent the game at the beginning, providing the home team with a slight payback for last season’s loss in the final game of German Cup competition (DFB Pokal) when Dortmund emerged victorious (1:0).
Frankfurt currently ranks at No. 7 spot in the league table with 14 points after nine matches and a 4-2-3 overall record (3-1-1 on the road). They are one of the best visitors so far ranking third on the road league table with 10 points in five games, the same number of points as defending champions Bayern Munich, and one point less than current league leader Dortmund. Their goal difference is 10-9 (5-3 on the road) and 40% of team’s away games had over 2.5 goals in total while only one game so far had over 3.5 goals in total. They’ve managed to concede at least one goal in both halves in 33% of their matches (20% of road duels) and both teams scored in 56% of their games (40% of road duels).
Coach Niko Kovac prefers the classic 3-4-3 scheme with Abraham, Hasebe, and Russ operating on the defensive line in front of goalkeeper Hradecky. Willems, Boateng, Gacinovic, and Chandler start with mostly midfield assignments while Rebic, Haller and Wolf play up front. Sebastian Haller is the teams’ top scorer with four goals while Ante Rebic has three. Kevin-Prince Boateng, Luka Jovic, and Marius Wolf recorded one goal each so far while Wolf and Haller have team-high two assists each at the moment. Passing segment belongs to defenders David Abraham and Jetro Willems with 274 and 219 total passes while goalie Lukas Hradecky has 116 shots against, 25 saves and three games with clean sheets. The most undisciplined player is midfielder Gelson Fernandes with three yellow cards and 15 fouls committed while Simon Falette has one red card already.
Omar Mascarell (Achilles tendon) will be out until January next year while Timothy Chandler’s (knee), Yanni Regasel’s (back) and Alexander Meier’s (ankle) status is unknown. Noel Knothe (foot), Gelson Fernandes (thigh) and Danny Vieira da Costa (thigh) are all listed as day to day. Good news is that Jonathan De Guzman (muscle) is back in training.
Mainz 05 vs. Eintracht Frankfurt – Match Prediction
Last six games between these two foes throughout the last three seasons were all over 2.5 goals in total but that trend should finally come to an end on Friday because there are no indicators so far into the season that this could be a high-scoring matchup.
On the other side, at least one goal scored by both sides looks convincing and a 1:1 draw makes the most sense as the final result. Both teams managed to qualify for the next round of the DFB Pokal competition on Tuesday as Mainz emerged victorious at home against Kiel (3:2, after extra time) while Eintracht defeated Schweinfurt on the road (4:0), meaning that both squads will be full of confidence. The first pick will still be under 2.5 goals as the least risky one.
My pick: Under 2.5 goals (+129)
Additional Pick: Draw (+231)
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