Mainz vs Bayer Leverkusen Preview: Team News & Prediction

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Kasper Hjulmand will be hoping that Bayer Leverkusen’s recent revival continues away at Mainz, who sit inside the bottom three.

Kick-off date/time:

How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / US – ESPN

How to watch online: UK – Not streamed / US – ESPN+

Mainz preview: Losses tough to prevent

A bad recent slump from Mainz has seen them fall into the relegation mix and they begin this latest round of Bundesliga fixtures in 16th place, a point behind Wolfsburg and two behind Augsburg. This is mainly due to suffering consecutive defeats just before the international break, both of which saw them fail to score.

Whilst 0-2 loss against a team of Borussia Dortmund’s quality is easy enough to stomach, being thrashed 4-0 by newly promoted Hamburg most certainly is not and the pressure on head coach Bo Henriksen is now extremely heavy.

Bayer Leverkusen preview: Back to business

Under the command of Kasper Hjulmand, Bayer Leverkusen are finally starting to look like their old selves again and have climbed up the Bundesliga table after having picked up ten points from the last 12 available to them. They remain unbeaten in the league under Hjulmand, who has helped them rediscover their attacking verve, whilst also tightening up defensively.

They head into this game following back-to-back league wins, the opposite of Mainz. A hard-fought 1-2 triumph away at St. Pauli was backed up by a comfortable 2-0 victory against Union Berlin.

Mainz team news: Zentner banned

Suspension rules out goalkeeper Robin Zentner, so expect Lasse Riess to deputise between the posts. Elsewhere, full-back Anthony Caci and centre-back Maxim Dal are both missing through injury.

Predicted XI (3-4-3): Riess; Da Costa, Hanche-Olsen, Kohr; Widmer, Sano, Amiri, Mwene; Nebel, Hollerbach, Lee

Unavailable: Caci (Injured), Dal (Injured), Zentner (Suspended)

Questionable: 

Bayer Leverkusen team news: Star striker a big doubt

The biggest worry for Bayer Leverkusen surrounds Patrik Schick, who is struggling to recover in time to feature in this game due to a hamstring injury. He could join the likes of Palacios and Tape on the sidelines and would be a big miss for the visitors.

Predicted XI (3-4-3): Flekken; Quansah, Bade, Tapsoba; Vazquez, Andrich, Garcia, Grimaldo; Poku, Kofane, Tillman

Unavailable: Palacios (Injured), Tape (Injured)

Questionable: Quansah (Injured), Schick (Injured), Tella (Injured), Terrier (Fitness)

Mainz vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction

Whilst Bayer Leverkusen come into this encounter at the right end of the form scale compared to their opponents, the potential loss of Schick could well serve as an equaliser when taking into account his huge goalscoring threat. It would be hard for the visitors to replicate their recent attacking play without him, which potentially opens the door for Mainz.

However, the hosts have struggled offensively and it’s hard to see them being afforded plenty of opportunities against this Leverkusen side. With that in mind, all the ingredients are place for a low scoring affair and backing under 2.5 goals looks a smart move.

Mainz vs Bayer Leverkusen tip: Under 2.5 goals