Soccer Germany Bundesliga Prediction

Mainz vs Bayern Munich - Match Preview

⚽ 22 April 2023 - 13:30 GMT +0

Loitering just outside the top-six, Mainz looks well placed to make a late assault on the Bundesliga table in search of a first appearance in European competition since 2016/17. With just six games remaining in the season, Mainz find themselves in a cluster of four sides who harbour realistic hopes of claiming the Bundesliga’s sixth and final European spot, with their aspirations certainly boosted by a nine-match unbeaten league run (W5, D4).

While on the face of it that seems an impressive run, the fact all four draws came across their last five games will serve as a room for improvement for boss Bo Svensson. What better way to start improving upon that than against his former boss, turned Bayern Munich manager, Thomas Tuchel for whom Svensson played for Mainz over a period of five years!

Interestingly, the student has seemingly become the master at Mainz, with Svensson’s 40% win rate actually better than Tuchel’s 38% from his tenure, though the Bayern boss will be keen to bring that down a notch here. With Bayern chasing a title, there will be no room for sentiment, especially with this the only front they’re fighting on after a 4-1 aggregate defeat to Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

There’s no guarantee that just being able to focus on the Bundesliga will help Bayern, as their 59-point haul is actually their worst after 28 games in 11 years! Playing away from home probably wouldn’t be Bayern’s premier pick to improve upon that tally either, not only because they’ve alternated between wins and defeats across their last five away league games (W3, L2), but also because they’ve lost both Bundesliga away games against a Svensson-managed Mainz!

📋 Players to watch: Ludovic Ajorque has netted five goals in his last seven Mainz appearances, four of which have arrived after half-time. Bayern, meanwhile, may look to Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting for inspiration given four of his last five club goals have proved decisive in victory, including in their 4-0 DFB Pokal victory here.

⚡ Hot streak: Mainz have scored in 14 consecutive Bundesliga games, a club record.

Dortmund vs Eintracht Frankfurt - Match Preview

⚽ 22 April 2023 - 16:30 GMT +0

Edin Terzić and his Borussia Dortmund side can only hope that their failure to defeat Stuttgart in a pulsating 3-3 draw last time out won’t be a season-defining moment after title rivals Bayern Munich also dropped points. That was a golden opportunity to draw level with Bayern at the Bundesliga summit, with Dortmund’s frailties fully exposed by failing to hold both 2-0 and 3-2 leads before ultimately crumbling in the 97th minute!

The visit of Eintracht Frankfurt may provide some much-needed respite for Dortmund, who hope to build on their patchy five-game league form (W2, D2, L1) against the side they’ve defeated more often than any other in the top-flight (W48, D20, L31). If that’s not enough to inspire confidence, then perhaps boasting the league’s strongest home record (W11, D1, L1) will be enough to rally the troops after last weekend’s disappointment.

Oliver Glasner’s Frankfurt side enters this clash having suffered an almighty fall from grace in the league, with a seven-game winless run seeing them tumble out of the European places (D4, L3). The Eagles do have a DFB Pokal semi-final on the horizon, so if they fall further adrift of the top six here, they’re likely to put more focus on earning European qualification via the cup competition.

Things don’t look much better on the road for Frankfurt, who are enduring their longest wait for an away league win since 2017 (D4, L4). Stopping the rot against this particular opposition will be tricky, to say the least, with Glasner losing each of his seven personal Bundesliga H2Hs with Dortmund, and his embarrassment may not stop there, as one more defeat would equal the Bundesliga record for one coach against a specific opponent!

📋 Players to watch: With seven goals in 16 H2H appearances, Dortmund’s Marco Reus is just two goals shy of equalling club legend Michael Zorc’s record of nine goals in games between these sides. As for Frankfurt, Daichi Kamada scored one of his three league goals assisted by the influential Randal Kolo Muani in the reverse fixture, making them one of the most potent duos in the division.

⚡ Hot stat: Frankfurt have avoided defeat in almost half of their league games when conceding first this season (W1, D6, L8).