Teams | April 14, 2017 at 02:12 AM
MAINZ 05: A point to prove after last season
MAINZ 05: A point to prove after last season
The third to last away game of the season awaits the Blue-Whites this Saturday, with a Matchday 29 trip to Mianz 05 on the horizon.
slightly bitter last season. Needing a goalless draw to confirm a Europa League place, Pal Dardai’s men were defeated on the Rhein and overtaken by their opponents from the final matchday - slipping to seventh in the table and Europa League qualification, which ended disastrously after two games against IF Brondby.
Mainz went on to be knocked out in the group stages of this year’s competition. Here are the rest of the facts you need to know about the so-called Zerofivers.
Sporting outlook: Martin Schmidt’s men have not been able to replicate the form they showed last season. They started the second half of the season in 11th but have slipped to 15th in the table after picking up just eight points from 11 Bundesliga games. The club on the Rhein now find themselves in a battle to avoid the drop and sit outside the relegation play-off place only on goal difference. The problem is a lack of goals - they have found the net just ten time since the winter break. “We have spent plenty of time in the opponent’s box, but the clear cut chances just have not fallen our way,” said captain Stefan Bell after the recent 1-0 defeat in Freiburg.
The Connections: Sami Allagui called the Rhein club his home between 2010 and 2012, scoring 14 goals and getting six assists in that time before moving to Hertha. After two years, in which time he scored 15 goals and had seven assists, Allagui was loaned back to Mainz for twelve months before returning to the capital in the summer of 2015. Berlin-born Leon Balogun is part of the Mainz set up, after having been involved with the Hertha youth team as a youngster.
Focus on Mainz: The biggest threat from the home side on Saturday will come in the shape of last summer’s arrival from Bayer Leverkusen Levin Öztunali. The grandson of Hamburg legend Uwe Seeler has been involved in seven of Mainz’s 10 goals since the turn of the year, scoring three of them himself and setting up four. However, in three previous games against Hertha playing for Leverkusen, Mainz and Bremen the young attacker is yet to score or be involved in a goal.
The Head2Head: The two sides have met just 30 times with Mainz scoring just 26 times compared to Hertha’s 46, leaving the overall record at 12 wins for Hertha and five for Mainz with 13 draws. Vedad Ibisevic’s double in the reverse fixture was enough to give Dardai’s men a 2-1 win.
The view on Hertha: The aim of the Zerofivers after last week’s defeat in Freiburg was clear: „We need to keep moving forward and pick up all the points we have squandered in the next few weeks,” said midfielder Fabian Frei. “We believe that we can turn our situation around,” stressed Mainz coach Schmidt, “and on Saturday we will take the first step to help us get out of this misery,” added the Swiss.
Berlin- It might have a carnival feel and a beautiful riverside backdrop but Hertha left Mainz slightly bitter last season. A goalless draw on the Rhein was enough to give the hosts automatic qualification into the Europa League group stages and send Hertha into the fourth qualifying round, which ended disastrously after two games against IF Brondby.
Mainz went on to be knocked out in the group stages of this year’s competition. Here are the rest of the facts you need to know about the so-called Zerofivers.
Sporting outlook: Martin Schmidt’s men have not been able to replicate the form they showed last season. They started the second half of the season in 11th but have slipped to 15th in the table after picking up just eight points from 11 Bundesliga games. The club on the Rhein now find themselves in a battle to avoid the drop and sit outside the relegation play-off place only on goal difference. The problem is a lack of goals - they have found the net just ten time since the winter break. “We have spent plenty of time in the opponent’s box, but the clear cut chances just have not fallen our way,” said captain Stefan Bell after the recent 1-0 defeat in Freiburg.
The Connections: Sami Allagui called the Rhein club his home between 2010 and 2012, scoring 14 goals and getting six assists in that time before moving to Hertha. After two years, in which time he scored 15 goals and had seven assists, Allagui was loaned back to Mainz for twelve months before returning to the capital in the summer of 2015. Berlin-born Leon Balogun is part of the Mainz set up, after having been involved with the Hertha youth team as a youngster.
Focus on Mainz: The biggest threat from the home side on Saturday will come in the shape of last summer’s arrival from Bayer Leverkusen Levin Öztunali. The grandson of Hamburg legend Uwe Seeler has been involved in seven of Mainz’s 10 goals since the turn of the year, scoring three of them himself and setting up four. However, in three previous games against Hertha playing for Leverkusen, Mainz and Bremen the young attacker is yet to score or be involved in a goal.
The Head2Head: The two sides have met just 30 times with Mainz scoring just 26 times compared to Hertha’s 46, leaving the overall record at 12 wins for Hertha and five for Mainz with 13 draws. Vedad Ibisevic’s double in the reverse fixture was enough to give Dardai’s men a 2-1 win.
The view on Hertha: The aim of the Zerofivers after last week’s defeat in Freiburg was clear: „We need to keep moving forward and pick up all the points we have squandered in the next few weeks,” said midfielder Fabian Frei. “We believe that we can turn our situation around,” stressed Mainz coach Schmidt, “and on Saturday we will take the first step to help us get out of this misery,” added the Swiss.