Preview: Mainz 05 vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
Mainz 05 and Borussia Monchengladbach will head into their Friday night encounter level on points in the Bundesliga.
Both teams moved back into the top half of the table by securing impressive victories last weekend
Indeed, Mainz won for the third time in their last four league games with a 3-2 win away to Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday, leapfrogging their opponents into ninth position in the process.
Bo Svensson’s side looked set to head into the break level after Anthony Caci and Nadiem Amiri exchanged blows either side of the half-hour mark, but Leandro Barreiro’s strike in the fourth minute of first half injury-time put Die Nullfunfer on the front foot.
Patrik Schick’s equaliser 13 minutes after coming out for the second half at the BayArena indicated that a share of the spoils would be the most likely outcome, but the visitors capitalised on Amine Adli’s late dismissal, with Marcus Ingvartsen converting his penalty to secure all three points for his side.
With no European football or cup run to contend with for the rest of the campaign, Svensson will be hoping to guide his players to a second successive finish in the Bundesliga’s top half after placing in eighth last season.
Gladbach, meanwhile, continued their remarkable record against Bayern Munich in recent seasons by defeating the reigning champions 3-2 at Borussia-Park last weekend.
Die Fohlen were handed a huge helping hand by Dayot Upamecano’s dismissal for a professional foul on Alassane Plea after just eight minutes, with club captain Lars Stindl quickly maximising his side’s numerical advantage by breaking the deadlock five minutes later.
However, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting levelled the scoring 10 minutes prior to half time, but Daniel Farke’s side were not to be denied a third victory against Bayern in their last four meetings, with Jonas Hofmann and Marcus Thuram both scoring after the break to ensure that Mathys Tel’s strike proved to be little more than a consolation one.
Few teams boast a record as impressive as Gladbach’s against the club to have won each of the last 10 Bundesliga titles, with Die Fohlen winning seven of their last 13 meetings against Bayern in all competitions, losing only four of those matches.
Farke will be hoping that his side can take plenty of confidence from their surprise victory last time out, with a win against Mainz on Friday set to move them up to seventh in the table.
Mainz 05 Bundesliga form:
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Mainz 05 form (all competitions):
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Borussia Monchengladbach Bundesliga form:
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We say: Mainz 05 1-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
With both teams winning their last matches to move back into the top half of the table, this should be a closely-contested affair, especially with both teams sitting level on points.
Gladbach have won just once on the road all season, whereas Mainz have performed better away from home, so we can envisage a share of the spoils on Friday evening.