Mainz vs Bayern Munich
League leaders Bayern Munich head to the Rhine on Saturday for a mouth-watering top flight clash against upwardly mobile Mainz. Vincent Kompany’s team sits six points clear at the top of the table and, with mixed success in Europe and an early exit from the DFB Pokal, Bayern can’t really afford a wobble in the league.
And that all makes Bundesliga: Mainz 05 vs FC Bayern a nervy proposition for the Bavarians and an intriguing prospect for SBOTOP football fans.
FSV Mainz manager Bo Henriksen has done a fine job since arriving at the Mewa Arena last February, steering them away from trouble with a nine match unbeaten run to finish 13th; and, after a slow start this term, they have picked up nine points from the last four games.
But Kompany’s Bayern beat Heidenheim 4-2 last week while the hosts came out on the wrong end of a seven goal thriller away to Wolfsburg, and the Mainz fans will make the 34,000 capacity Mewa Arena a white hot cauldron on Saturday as they do all they can to will their team on to a shock win.
Talking Points
Burkardt is on fire
Die Nullfunfer have climbed up to ninth in the table and a victory over Wolfsburg last week would have lifted them up to fifth. And the form of their star striker has been a huge factor in Mainz’s climb up the league. Jonathan Burkardt, with ten goals already is the third highest scorer in the league, behind only Harry Kane and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush and he has scored in each of the last four games, including a brace in the 2-0 win over TSG Hoffenheim.
At 24 years of age he’s a real prospect with great maturity as the club vice captain, and Burkhardt picked up his first two caps for Germany this year, replacing the injured Kai Havertz for matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands. And he’s getting good support from winger Paul Nebel, who scored twice against Wolfsburg, while defenders Philipp Mwene and Anthony Caci have weighed in with three assists each. Burkhardt is the focal point of Mainz’s attacking group but this is a nicely balanced side, conceding just one goal in their previous four games, before the goal-fest against Wolfsburg.
Mainz comes too early for Kane
The big Mainz vs FC Bayern news coming out of Bavaria last week was an injury to their star striker. Bayern picked up a point in the recent Klassiker as Jamal Musiala scored a late equaliser after BVB had led for most of the game through Jamie Gittens. But the valuable point came at a cost as top scorer Kane limped off midway through the first half. The club later reported the England legend had torn some muscle fibre in his thigh and he is likely to be out for a few weeks, but Kompany has not ruled out a return for Kane before the end of the year, saying: “The way things are going now, it’s possible that he will play one or two more games this year. But everything has to be right.”
The Bavarians are strong favourites to win the Bundesliga and they are priced at 1.40 to take all three points on Saturday. But they really need their goal machine back as soon as possible, knowing that their rivals will be ready to pounce should Bayern slip up. 2024 champions Bayer Leverkusen are the biggest threat and are lurking seven points behind, and we all know what sort of a run Die Werkself can put together. Red Bull Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt have been punching above their weight and are still in touch but, from fifth placed Wolfsburg down the rest are chasing for European places.
With 14 goals and six assists Kane’s contribution is huge and while Thomas Muller is an experienced campaigner with a top class pedigree, Kompany will want his main man fit and firing for the second half of the campaign.
History
Over the past 20 years Mainz have met Bayern Munich 43 times, picking up eight wins and three draws while Die Bayern have won 32 of the encounters. And FSV have had a miserable time at the hands of the Bavarians recently, losing 4-0 in the DFB Pokal Cup this season and 3-1 at home in the league last year, while they took an almighty 8-1 thumping in Munich.
Before that run of three losses Mainz did beat Bayern 3-1 in their home match of the 22/23 Bundesliga season.
With three wins, one draw and two defeats from the last six the hosts have been in decent form, while Bayern are strong with four victories, one draw and one defeat. It’s a tough game to call so let’s take a look at our Mainz vs FC Bayern betting tips.
Betting Tip
At odds of 5.60 to win this is a tough task for the hosts and they’d take a draw at 4.23 right now. Bayern have a Champions League match away to Shakhtar on Tuesday night which may give Mainz an advantage; and I’m sure the league leaders will have to work very hard for a victory.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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