Europe-chasing Mainz 05 aim to reel in Stuttgart in the battle for the Champions League spots in Saturday's Bundesliga clash at Mewa Arena.
Although four points separate both sides ahead of the gameweek 19 contest, the Carnival Club will be aware of their wretched record in this fixture, and Bo Henriksen's men hope to halt that nine-match winless sequence this weekend.
Match preview
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Mainz's performances and results heading into 2025 suggested the 05ers could compete for Champions League qualification, but consecutive top-flight losses have seen Henriksen's men fall to sixth.
Despite defeats at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin, the Carnival Club remain four points adrift of this weekend's visitors, and success for the hosts could cut that gap to one point.
With both losses coming on the road, the home support will take encouragement from their side's results at Mewa Arena, where they have clinched success over Borussia Dortmund (3-1), Hoffenheim (2-0), Bayern Munich (2-1) and VfL Bochum (2-0) as they seek a fifth victory on the trot at Stuttgart's expense.
However, a nine-match run without defeating Saturday's opponents is portending for the 05ers, who aim to avoid falling to a third top-flight reverse for the first time since September 2023 — when Bo Svensson was head coach.
While returning to winning ways could see Mainz move to within a point of their fourth-placed opponents, Henriksen's men will be aware of the possibility of sliding down the standings, with Wolfsburg and Freiburg a point behind the 05ers and Werder Bremen two adrift.
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Stuttgart, keen to continue their impressive results since the turn of the year, look to clinch a fourth consecutive Bundesliga triumph and fifth overall after Tuesday's 3-1 Champions League success at Slovan Bratislava.
Recent history stands Sebastian Hoeness's men in good stead, with Die Roten undefeated in this fixture since January 2019 — a 3-2 home defeat against Mainz.
Since that loss, the Reds have secured six victories in the subsequent nine, although they were held to a 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture despite leading 2-0 and 3-2.
That gameweek two encounter formed part of the away side's below-par start to the 2024-25 campaign, but Hoeness's team have since responded, as evidenced by their current standing and notching five victories in their last six Bundesliga outings.
Only defending champions, Bayer Leverkusen, have outdone Stuttgart's 15 points in that period, underscoring the confidence in the away side's camp before travelling to Mewa Arena this weekend.
Success for the Swabians would be the club's third consecutive away victory after victories at Hoffenheim (3-1) and Augsburg (1-0), and the fourth-placed outfit on 32 points hope to notch maximum points to prevent Leipzig in fifth, a point behind, from leapfrogging them in the standings.
Team News
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Gabriel Vidovic (ankle), Jonathan Burkardt (thigh) and Moritz Jenz (muscle) are not expected to feature for the sixth-placed hosts due to injury, though the 05ers will assess Jenz.
With 12-goal man Burkardt missing, the hosts will need Jae-sung Lee and Paul Nebel, both of whom have netted five goals apiece, taking responsibility against the in-form visitors.
Enzo Millot is suspended for the visitors after an accumulation of cards, while Dan-Axel Zagadou (knee), El Bilal Toure (foot), Justin Diehl (hamstring) and Luca Raimund (thigh) are in the wars.
Two-goal Champions League hero Jamie Leweling is expected to make his 11th league start for the Swabians this term following midweek exploits against Slovan Bratislava.
Regardless, the attacking onus will be on Ermedin Demirovic (eight goals) — who could start on the bench — and Deniz Undav (seven), the latter of whom has netted in two of the previous three Bundesliga fixtures, to be decisive this weekend.
Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:
Zentner; Da Costa, Bell, Kohr; Caci, Sano, Amiri, Mwene; Nebel, Lee; Sieb
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Vagnoman, Chabot, Rouault, Mittelstadt; Leweling, Karazor, Stiller, Fuhrich; Undav, Woltemade
We say: Mainz 05 1-3 Stuttgart
Without Burkardt, whose five match-winning goals are below only Harry Kane, Mainz's task against the in-form Swabians is extra difficult.
Thus, Stuttgart could notch a fourth consecutive Bundesliga triumph this weekend, extending their undefeated run against the 05ers to 10 without losing.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
