Mainz are looking to escape the drop as they host Borussia Dortmund in a Bundesliga fixture on Saturday. Mainz have been the draw experts lately and can hold out against Dortmund, who have little to play for domestically.
Sitting in the bottom three, one point from safety, the task for Mainz in the final weeks will be to climb out of danger. They are currently on a seven match unbeaten run in the Bundesliga, although the last three fixtures have ended in 1-1 draws.
Bo Henriksen’s men often do their best work at Mewa Arena, where they are unbeaten in the last seven matches. They have picked up four wins in that run but were held to a 1-1 draw by Cologne in their previous home fixture.
Borussia Dortmund are on a high at the moment after qualifying for the Champions League final thanks to a 1-0 victory at PSG. Having already secured a return to the competition via the Bundesliga table, Edin Terzic’s men have little to play for domestically, although they will be keen on keeping their confidence levels high.
Dortmund have been a bit erratic in the Bundesliga lately, with six wins from their last 10 matches. They did claim a 5-1 victory over Augsburg last time out but were beaten 4-1 at RB Leipzig in their previous fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it: Dortmund ranked slight outsiders
Mainz have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 5/4 by bet365 to claim the win. A victory for Borussia Dortmund is valued at 2/1 by bet365 while a draw is set at odds of 13/5.
Head to head: Recent meetings have been deadlocked
Borussia Dortmund have a 20-6 advantage with 10 draws from 36 previous matches against Mainz. However, the last two meetings have ended in draws with both teams battling to a 1-1 scoreline in the reverse fixture back in December.
Players to watch: Burkhardt to maintain scoring run
Jonathan Burkhardt is the leading scorer for Mainz with seven goals and could be worth keeping an eye on. The forward has also found the net three times in the last four matches and is priced at 6/4 by bet365 to maintain his scoring run.
Donyell Malen could be the one to watch for Borussia Dortmund as he looks to add to his 12 Bundesliga goals. The forward is priced at 5/2 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Saturday.
Probable line-ups
Karim Onisiwo remains suspended for Mainz but Nadiem Amiri is set to return after serving a suspension. Borussia Dortmund are likely to ring in the changes with Donyell Malen and Marco Reus in line to start after being on the bench in Paris.
Mainz: Zentner, Fernandes, Van den Berg, Hanche-Olsen, Widmer, Barriers, Korea, Caci, Amiri, Burkhardt, Ajorque.
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Mateu-Morey, Sule, Papadopoulos, Wolf, Nmecha, Can, Malen, Reus, Bynoe-Gittens, Moukoko
Anything else catch the eye? Open encounter to serve up goals
Borussia Dortmund have seen over 4.5 goals in their last two Bundesliga matches and a similar outcome is priced at 11/4 with bet365. Over 3.5 goals could also be considered at 11/10 with bet365 Power.
There have been first half goals for both teams in Borussia Dortmund’s last two Bundesliga matches and a similar pattern is priced at 12/5 with bet365.
This German Bundesliga match between Mainz and Borussia Dortmund will be played on May 11, 2024 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Mainz vs Borussia Dortmund prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
