A chance to jump into European places remains open for Mainz 05 this week when they play host to Hertha BSC. The match is scheduled for Tuesday at the Opel Arena, with kickoff at 10:30 pm.
Although Mainz and Hertha are separated by six places in the table due to their differing success this season, they are only three points apart.
This means that if they both win their games today, their positions on the table will change drastically.
Mainz has not won many games recently, but the team’s performance levels have remained high, and the club is looking forward to its winter break.
With Hertha usually battling it out with sides like Hamburg at the wrong end of the table, finding itself in eighth place by matchday 16 is a fantastic achievement for Bo Svensson and his side.
Moreover, Mainz was unfortunate to come away with nothing last Saturday, as they pushed leaders Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena before eventually falling to a narrow 2-1 defeat.
In other Bundesliga news, Hertha recorded their first win in six matches on Saturday, in what was also the first victory under new manager Tayfun Korkut since his appointment.
A poor start to the campaign could be a good result if Korkut led his side to back-to-back victories on Tuesday.
Mainz vs Hertha BSC Head to Head
Both sides have 21 games against each other with hosts taking eight wins while visitors with six wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Bayern Munich 2-1 Mainz
- Mainz 3-0 Wolfsburg
- Stuttgart 2-1 Mainz
- Mainz 1-1 Koln
- Mainz 1-1 Borussia M’gladbach
Away
- Hertha 2-0 Arminia Bielefeld
- Stuttgart 2-2 Hertha BSC
- Hertha 1-1 Augsburg
- Union Berlin 2-0 Hertha
- Hertha 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Mainz Team News
The 1-0 defeat in Munich has left Mainz without any new injury worries, with just three players sidelined ahead of the clash with Wolfsburg on Tuesday.
Jeremiah St Juste, Anderson Lucoqui and Dominik Kohr are sidelined until January, leaving Svensson with the same squad of players to choose from.
Hertha BSC Team News
After an excellent result, Korkut could well name an unchanged starting lineup for Tuesday’s trip to Mainz.
Therefore, Stevan Jovetic and Ishak Belfodil should lead the line again, with Marco Richter and Suat Serdar supporting them.
Prediction and Odds
We predict the hosts to return to winning ways this Tuesday with a strong home record.
- Mainz Win
- Goals Under 3.5
- Both Teams to Score
