Mainz vs Borussia Dortmund Preview: Team News & Prediction
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Borussia Dortmund can make it four Bundesliga wins in a row with three points against Mainz at Mawa Arena.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / US – ESPN
How to watch online: UK – Not televised / US – ESPN+
Mainz preview: Road Warriors
Despite being reduced to ten men, Mainz were victorious last time out and in comprehensive fashion, defeating Augsburg on the road by four goals to one. Two goals in the first half put Mainz in control and they added two more in the 60th and 69th minute respectively. Despite losing their clean sheet late on, it was still a fantastic win for Mainz.
This was achieved in-spite of Dominik Kohr’s sending off in the 53rd minute, making the result even more impressive with Mainz scoring twice after going down to ten men, making the most of what limited possession they had.
Borussia Dortmund preview: Three in a row
A hard-fought 1-0 victory over Wolfsburg made it three consecutive wins in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund, all of which have come without Niko Kovac’s side conceding a goal. Since throwing away three points against St. Pauli, Dortmund have gotten the better of Union Berlin, Heidenheim and Wolfsburg.
Karim Adeyemi scored the only goal for Kovac’s men last weekend and he appears to have found form at a good time for Dortmund, having also scored and assisted in their opening Champions League game away at Juventus.
Mainz team news: Kohr serves suspension
With Kohr suspended and an injury ruling out Caci, Widmer is expected to start here for Mainz. The hosts could also be without Hollerbach, who is battling illness whilst Dal and Gleiber are also ruled out through injury.
Predicted XI (3-4-3): Zentner; Da Costa, Bell, Hanche-Olsen; Widmer, Sano, Amiri, Mwene; Nebel, Sieb, Lee
Unavailable: Caci (Injured), Dal (Injured), Gleiber (Injured), Kohr (Suspended)
Questionable: Hollerbach (Illness)
Borussia Dortmund team news: Schlotterbeck comes through return
After getting through his first game back from injury with no issues, centre-back Nico Schlotterback should be in line for a second consecutive start for Borussia Dortmund. Emre Can, Julien Duranville and Niklas Sule are out injured.
Predicted XI (3-4-3): Kobel; Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Ryerson, Gross, Nmecha, Svensson; Adeyemi, Guirassy, Beier
Unavailable: Can (Injured), Duranville (Injured), Sule (Injured)
Questionable: Anselmino (Injured), Silva (Injured)
Mainz vs Borussia Dortmund prediction
Assuming Bayern Munich get the better of Werder Bremen on Friday night, Borussia Dortmund will be five points behind Vincent Kompany’s side in the table, increasing the importance of this match from Dortmund’s perspective. The visitors have looked really strong defensively under Kovac, although they have proven prone to the occasion collapse (St. Pauli and Juventus).
However, when comparing these two squads it’s clear that Dortmund’s is stronger than Mainz. The hosts have lost both their Bundesliga games played so far at Mewa Arena without scoring and whilst this may not be a high-scoring affair, backing Dortmund to win with under 2.5 goals being scored looks a shrewd play.
Mainz vs Borussia Dortmund tip: Borussia Dortmund to win and under 2.5 goals
