Opponent analysis: 1. FSV Mainz 05
RBL take on Mainz on Saturday (8th October, 15:30 CEST) | Two sides next to each other in the standings go head-to-head | Zerofivers wobbling in recent performances | Head-to-head record in RBL’s favour
The wins just keep on coming! After the most recent convincing Bundesliga home victory over VfL Bochum, and then a 3-1 Champions League win against Celtic, RBL want to keep that run going when they visit Mainz this Saturday (15:30 CEST). Before the two sides - who are equal on points and sit in 12th and 11th in the table respectively - go head-to-head, we present our opponent analysis.
Form
Mainz got off to a brilliant start to their season with three wins, one draw and just one loss from their first five games. Since 10th September, however, head coach Bo Svensson’s side has seen their performances decline, with two defeats in their last three games. The Zerofivers lost 4-1 in Hoffenheim and 2-1 in Freiburg. A 1-1 draw against Hertha Berlin was their only point taken in this period. Our opponents have especially had problems taking points at their own ground. In three home games, they are yet to win and have only scored one goal. We would like to keep it that way on Saturday!
The squad
Summer signings
With two outgoing centre-backs in Moussa Niakhaté (to Nottingham Forest) and Jeremiah St. Juste (to Sporting Lisbon), last season’s eighth-placed finishers lost two key defensive personnel in the summer window. Although the sales of the centre-halves brought in 20 million euros, it was certainly a loss on a footballing level. They also sold Jean-Paul Boëtius, an attacking midfielder, to Hertha Berlin, while also saying goodbye to Kevin Stöger, another midfielder, as he headed to Bochum.
It was therefore clear that defensive and midfield reinforcements were required. Sporting director Martin Schmidt found what he was looking for in the French league, signing a new number 10, Angelo Fulgini, from SCO Angers. Danish striker Marcus Ingvartsen joined the club permanently after a loan spell from Union Berlin, during which he scored six times. The Zerofivers also signed other well-known Bundesliga names in Maxim Leitsch (centre-back, from Bochum) and Danny da Costa (right-back, from Eintracht Frankfurt).
Key players
One of the Bundesliga’s hot properties at the moment is Anton Stach. The 23-year-old turned heads with his performances as a number six last season, earning himself a Germany call-up. At the end of March, the defensive midfielder made his senior debut for his country, playing against Israel.
Jonathan Burkardt (who scored 17 goals last year) is a real threat in Mainz’s attack. The forward has been on Germany coach Hansi Flick’s radar for a while now, as captain of the U21 side. Burkardt, who is also partial to drifting in from off the left or right, is an adept dribbler of the ball, is still waiting for his goal of this campaign. That’s where his strike partner Karim Onisiwo has been better. The Austrian has already netted three times this season. He is also regarded as a key man for his side in terms of his team play and his pressing style.
The coach
Bo Svensson has been the man in the dugout at Mainz since January 2021. As a former pro, the 43-year-old knows what he’s talking about. The Dane, with three international caps to his name, studied literature before his playing career, and even played as a centre-back for Gladbach and Mainz in the Bundesliga, under the stewardship of none other than Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.
After the end of his playing career in 2014, Svensson first worked for Mainz as an assistant coach and in their youth setup, before he took on his first head-coaching job in summer 2019 at FC Liefering. He then headed back to Germany to take up the Mainz job at the start of last year, immediately recording Mainz’s strongest ever second half of a season, earning 32 points from his first game to the end of the 2021/22 campaign. The Dane is a someone who speaks his mind, stoically calm but also loud and emotional at moments. His preferred system this season is a 3-4-2-1.
Record
Our boys have faced 1. FSV Mainz 05 some 12 times, and are on the right side of the head-to-head record: RBL have won seven of these games, with three losses. Notably, when these sides meet, goals are almost guaranteed – 55 goals in 12 games spell an average of 4.6 per match. The goal difference is clearly in Leipzig’s favour at 37-18, and no wonder when you look back at the 2019/20 season: matchday 10 of that campaign in November 2019 saw RBL record the biggest win in their history, putting eight past Mainz without response at the Red Bull Arena. The return fixture in May 2020 also saw a clear away win, with a scoreline of 5-0.
The last five matches
- 8th January 2022 | Bundesliga, matchday 18: RB Leipzig 4-1 FSV Mainz 05
- 15th August 2021 | Bundesliga, matchday 1: FSV Mainz 05 1-0 RB Leipzig
- 23rd January 2021 | Bundesliga, matchday 18: FSV Mainz 05 3-2 RB Leipzig
- 20th September 2021 | Bundesliga, matchday 1: RB Leipzig 3-1 FSV Mainz
- 24th May 2020 | Bundesliga, matchday 27: FSV Mainz 05 0-5 RB Leipzig