Mainz 05 hosts Hoffenheim
Mainz 05 hosts Hoffenheim at the Opel Arena in a match from the 29th round of the Bundesliga. Let’s dive into details about this fixture.
Mainz 05 remain without a win since the restart of the season, but at the same time they only lost once. On Wednesday Mainz traveled to the capital to face Union Berlin and went home with a point after a 1-1 draw. Right back Ridle Bote Baku opened the score for the visitors, but Danish forward Marcus Ingvartsen equalised for Union.
In the 41th minute Union Berlin were left with ten men on the pitch as Robert Andrich recieved a red card. Despite of this advantage, Mainz 05 were unable to score a second winning goal. The manager Achim Beierlorzer put on the pitch players like Ji Dong-Won, Karim Onisiwo and Adam Szalai, but he didn’t get the result he hoped for.
Mainz 05 are in a delicate situation, so they need the points here. At this moment the club is 15th in the standings with 28 points, being just one point ahead of the relegation playoff spot in the Bundesliga. That’s a dangerous position to be in.
Let’s take a look at Hoffenheim as well. Hoffe finally achieved their first win since the quarantine when they hosted Koln and took the three points with an excellent 3-1 result. It was a terrific game for the Austrian international Christoph Baumgartner, who scored twice and assisted for Steven Zuber’s goal. Koln managed to score once, but when they did it they were already three goals behind.
For this visit to Mainz Hoffenheim can’t use the injured Ishak Belfodil, Sargis Adamyan and Andrej Kramaric, while Benjamin Hubner is injured.
Both Mainz 05 and Hoffenheim need the three points here, although for different reasons. Mainz need to get away from the relegation zone, while Hoffenheim are fighting for another participation in Europe.