RB Leipzig appear to have lost their mojo and they can ill-afford another slip-up when they meet Mainz at the Opel Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Bulls have lit up the Bundesliga at times this season, however, their title charge has faltered following a run of three draws against Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and Freiburg respectively.
Consequently, the Red Bull Arena side have slid down to fourth-place in the German top-tier where they find themselves seven points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.
Leipzig, under the stewardship of the young and innovative Julian Naglesmann, were the leading goalscorers in the Bundesliga at the halfway stage of the season and they will be desperate to get back to winning ways this weekend.
Standing in Leipzig's way of a much-needed shot in the arm is a Mainz outfit who staged an impressive late comeback to draw 2-2 away at Cologne last Sunday.
Achim Beierlozer's side sit fourth bottom just four points ahead off Fortuna Dusseldorf and they will be looking to replicate the fighting spirit they showed last weekend in their bid to avoid being dragged into the Bundesliga basement zone.
The Betting Odds
Mainz are big outsiders at 11/2 with Bet 365, while a share of the spoils pays 4/1 with William Hill.
RB Leipzig, despite winning only two of their last eight Bundesliga matches, are odds-on favourites at 4/9 with Bet 365.
The Betting Angles
Although Leipzig dropped points last weekend they did pass up a number of gilt-edged chances and that may change on Sunday when they are faced with a Mainz side who they mauled 8-0 in the reverse fixture.
Naglesmann watched his side rack up 22 shots on goal last time out – nine of which were on target – and I fancy Die Roten Bullen to rediscover their shooting boots against relegation-threatened Mainz.
Leipzig are the third-highest scorers in the division and all but two of their league wins this season have been by two or more goals, however, there is little value in backing the away side to win and to score two or more goals here at 8/13 with Bet365,
However, an alternative combination that catches the eye is one or more Leipzig goals, five or more Leipzig corners and Mainz to receive two or more cards at 15/8 with PaddyPower.
Leipzig, despite their recent wobble, have quickly become one of Europe's most lauded teams and the attack-minded Red Bulls will be coming up against one of the most brittle backlines in the Bundesliga this weekend.
Mainz have shipped 55 goals in 26 league games this term – an average of 2.1 goals against per-game -and the hosts will be hard tasked when trying to tame Timo Werner and Co.
What's more, matches involving Mainz have averaged over 11 corners per game this season and the home side are also clocking up just over two cards per game – all of which adds to the appeal of siding with the above-mentioned punt with PaddyPower
However, the aforementioned 15/8 can be boosted up to an eye-catching 16/5 with the same firm by adding two or more Leipzig goals and I'll also be having a play on that for reasons outlined above.
That line of thought has also lured me towards the 17/10 (PaddyPower) on offer for 3+ match goals, 3+ match cards and 6+ match corners at the Opel Arena.
Both these teams are in the top-five when it comes to average goals-per game across the division – each respective side averaging over 3.5 goals per game this season to date.
It's also worth noting that this fixture has averaged almost five cards per-game across the last six meetings and given that both sides still have plenty to play for, the 17/10 (PaddyPower) on offer for 3+ match goals, 3+ match cards and 6+ match corners takes appeal.
This German Bundesliga match between Mainz and RB Leipzig will be played on May 24, 2020 and kick off at 14:30. Check below for our tipsters best Mainz vs RB Leipzig prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
