MX23RW : Sunday, December 22 13:41:21| >> :600:192781:192781:
[monks data]
Mainz logo
Bundesliga | Gameweek 17
Jan 13, 2024 at 2.30pm UK
OPEL ARENA
Wolfsburg

Mainz
1 - 1
Wolfsburg

Widmer (61')
Widmer (3'), van den Berg (46'), Fernandes (56')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Cerny (12')
Vranckx (16'), Jenz (27'), Casteels (54'), Svanberg (79')

Preview: Mainz 05 vs. Wolfsburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Bundesliga clash between Mainz 05 and Wolfsburg, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Mainz 05 will be aiming to end a winless streak of six league games when they host Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

The visitors, meanwhile, lost seven of their last 10 league matches prior to the winter break, falling into the bottom half of the table in the process.


Match preview

Mainz 05's Robin Zentner speaks to referee Matthias Jollenbeck on November 1, 2023© Reuters

Mainz ended the calendar year inside the relegation places, albeit their impressive 1-1 draw away to Borussia Dortmund ensured that they moved above FC Koln into the relegation playoff spot rather than remaining in the automatic places.

However, Die Nullfunfer have managed to win just once in their opening 16 matches, which is fewer than any other team in the division.

They moved to sack Bo Svensson in early November, with former Huddersfield Town boss Jan Siewert initially drafted in as Svensson's replacement on an interim basis. Siewert has since been announced as the club's permanent manager.

Considering that the 41-year-old has not claimed a victory since his opening game against RB Leipzig, this decision may be a little surprising to some. That said, Mainz have only conceded four goals in Siewert's seven matches in charge, suggesting they should be defensively strong enough to eventually move away from danger.

On the flipside, only Koln have scored fewer goals than their tally of 13; indeed, since that surprising 2-0 win against Leipzig, Siewert's side have scored just twice across six fixtures, and he will desperately be hoping this figure increases against Wolfsburg on Saturday.

VfL Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac on December 5, 2023© Reuters

Considering that Wolfsburg have conceded 18 goals in eight matches on the road so far this season, their chances of keeping a clean sheet appear to be relatively slim.

However, despite Maxence Lacroix seeing red early on, the Wolves did manage to contain SV Darmstadt 98 away from home in their penultimate game before the break.

They followed that win up with a reasonably respectable 2-1 defeat at home to Bayern Munich five days before Christmas, when Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane fired the visitors into a two-goal lead and Niko Kovac's side could not find a crucial equaliser against the Croatian's former team despite Maximilian Arnold pulling one back before half time.

Having collapsed on the final day of last season at home to already-relegated Hertha Berlin to fall outside of the European qualification places, Kovac may feel that he is under pressure to improve results.

Claiming just seven points from their last 10 matches has seen Wolfsburg fall five points adrift of sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt and seventh-placed Hoffenheim ahead of this weekend's action.

As such, Kovac and his players will be keen to start 2024 off with a positive result against their struggling opponents on Saturday. They simply can not afford another run as poor as they have just gone through if they are to achieve their objectives for the campaign.

Mainz 05 Bundesliga form:


Mainz 05 form (all competitions):


Wolfsburg Bundesliga form:


Wolfsburg form (all competitions):



Team News

VfL Wolfsburg's Maxence Lacroix celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates Moritz Jenz and Joakim Maehle on October 21, 2023© Reuters

Mainz will remain without Nelson Weiper until at least next month, as the midfielder underwent knee surgery last year.

Stefan Bell is a slight doubt due to suffering with a cold, but otherwise Siewert should have a full squad at his disposal.

Karim Onisiwo returned to lead the line against Dortmund last time out for his side, and the 31-year-old should receive the nod once again. Jonathan Burkardt will be hoping to be recalled to the starting XI.

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, will travel without Lacroix, who misses another match through suspension after his red card against Darmstadt.

Amin Sarr, Patrick Wimmer and Lukas Nmecha all remain sidelined by knee injuries, while Ridle Baku may not feature due to illness.

If that proves to be the case, Denmark full-back Joachim Maehle may switch to his natural side, with Rogerio coming in at left wing-back. Otherwise, Kovac may pick the same starting XI that narrowly fell to defeat against Bayern.


Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:
Batz; Kohr, Bell, Van Den Berg; Widmer, Krauss, Lee, Mwene; Gruda, Richter; Onisiwo

Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Bornauw, Jenz, Zesiger; Maehle, Arnold, Vranckx, Svanberg, Rogerio; Wind, Majer


SM words green background

We say: Mainz 05 1-1 Wolfsburg

Neither side were scoring freely prior to the winter break, and it is difficult to imagine things changing much here. The respective teamsheets could prove telling, as if either manager opts to switch from a back five to a back four, that could suggest a more offensive gameplan.

Given Mainz's precarious position in the table and Wolfsburg's poor away form this season, we can envisage these sides sharing the spoils. This would represent a reasonably positive start to 2024 for both teams.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data


ID:533439:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect14448:
Written by
Brett Curtis

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Mainz vs Wolfsburg

Mainz 05
30.8%
Draw
34.6%
Wolfsburg
34.6%
26
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Maxence Lacroix in action for Wolfsburg in November 2021
Read Next:
Liverpool to make £30m move for Maxence Lacroix?
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Lions
@
Bears
6pm
Browns
@
Bengals
6pm
Patriots
@
Bills
6pm
Titans
@
Colts
6pm
Giants
@
Falcons
6pm
Rams
@
Jets
6pm
Cardinals
@
Panthers
6pm
Eagles
@
Washington
9.05pm
Vikings
@
Seahawks
9.25pm
49ers
@
Dolphins
9.25pm
Jags
@
Raiders
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayern MunichBayern15113147133436
2Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen1595137211632
3Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt1583435231227
4RB Leipzig158342420427
5Mainz 05Mainz157442820825
6Werder Bremen157442625125
7Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach157352520524
8Freiburg157352124-324
9Stuttgart156542925423
10Borussia DortmundDortmund146442521422
11Wolfsburg146353125621
12Union BerlinUnion Berlin154561419-517
13Augsburg154471732-1516
14St Pauli154291219-714
15Hoffenheim153572028-814
16Heidenheim1431101831-1310
17Holstein Kiel1522111938-198
18VfL BochumVfL Bochum1403111135-243


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!