Mainz are the visitors to the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday 16 February (kick-off 15:30 CET), a team who have suffered two straight heavy defeats after a strong start to the year. However, the 11th-placed 05ers have proven a tough nut to crack for the Green-Whites in recent years. The Wolves are without a victory in the last eight meetings between the two sides (seven draws, one defeat) – that’s their longest winless run against a current Bundesliga club.
Even-steven
Bizarrely, the two sides have shared the points in each of their last six encounters. A seventh consecutive draw would set a new Bundesliga record. Bruno Labbadia’s side can take confidence from their recent form, though, as only Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen have picked up more points than VfL (20) in the last 10 Bundesliga games.
Goals likely
Even though the last six meetings between the two have produced a meagre eight goals, this season’s statistics suggest both teams will be celebrating at least once on Saturday. Sandro Schwarz’s men have found the net in 12 of their last 13 Bundesliga outings but at the same time they’ve only registered one clean sheet in their last 14, which came in their 1-0 win at Fortuna Düsseldorf on Matchday 13.
Weghorst in form
If the 05ers want to keep a clean sheet on Saturday, they’ll have to keep VfL frontman Wout Weghorst quiet. The Dutchman has netted eight goals for the Wolves this season and is looking to score for the third game in a row.
