VfL Wolfsburg take on 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday (kick-off 15:30 CEST) in a meeting of two teams who are desperate to get back to winning ways after respectively going five and four games without victory. While the Wolves are looking to end their worst run since the 2021/22 season – six defeats on the bounce back then – the Zerofivers have the chance to equal a record.
Facts and figures on the game
- Happy hunting ground: VfL have lost just three of their last 18 Bundesliga clashes with Mainz (W8, D7). The Wolves even kept a clean sheet in half of those matches. They’ve fared particularly well away from home, picking up points in seven of their last eight visits to Rhineland-Palatinate.
- Mainz fortress: However, Mainz are currently unbeaten in 10 Bundesliga games at the MEWA ARENA. With six wins and four draws, it’s the longest current unbeaten streak at home in the league. Only once in their history have Mainz managed a longer run of this kind within one season, during the 2009/10 campaign. This could be equalled against VfL.
- Corner contrast: With 20 goals from dead balls, Wolfsburg share the joint-best figure in the league with Bayern Munich. The Green-and-Whites are particularly effective from corners: 10 goals is the outright best in the league. Mainz, on the other hand, are the only side in the German top flight still yet to score from a corner this season.
- Milestone against favourite opponents: Jonas Wind is set to make his 100th appearance in the Bundesliga at the weekend. The Danish international may have gone 10 games without a goal or assist, but he enjoys scoring against Mainz. Six of his 30 Bundesliga strikes have come against the Zerofivers – the most he’s netted against one club. In the reverse fixture, he came off the bench and lead the Wolves to a comeback win with two late goals.
- Better after the break: Mainz have only conceded 16 goals in the second half of matches this season, the fewest of all Bundesliga teams. Wolfsburg, however, are particularly dangerous as an attacking force after the break – 32 goals in the second period puts VfL second behind Bayern (49).
- Sharing the goals: A total of 17 different players have been on the scoresheet for the Wolves so far this season. That’s not only a club record but also a joint league high (with Leverkusen, Stuttgart and Frankfurt).
