Three points separate the bottom two teams, which is precisely why this clash at the Mewa Arena immediately feels like a game in which every mistake will hurt twice as much. On Tuesday, January 13, 2026, Urs Fischer’s 1. FSV Mainz 05 will go into the evening in 18th place with 9 points, while Frank Schmidt’s 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 is just ahead of them in 17th place with 12 points. Mainz comes into the game on the back of three consecutive league draws, but the 2-2 draw at Union Berlin felt like a missed opportunity after a two-goal lead – Amiri and Hollerbach scored. Heidenheim also couldn’t get past a 2-2 draw at home against Cologne, despite taking the lead twice through Pieringer and Niehues. Both performances had bite, but neither team managed to secure the victory that the situation actually demands. This is in line with recent history: Mainz won the last match in Heidenheim in February 2025 by 2-0, even though Heidenheim has a slight overall advantage in head-to-head comparisons and the games have often been close and low-scoring. With new attacking faces such as Tietz and Silas in the squad, Fischer’s team should see this as an opportunity to quickly close the gap. Heidenheim, recently linked with a possible transfer of Dinkci, can give themselves some breathing space with a win.
- Venue: Mewa Arena, Mainz
- Date and time: January 13, 2026, 8:30 p.m.
- Competition: Bundesliga (matchday 17)
The betting market makes Mainz the clear favorite: a home win is at 1.6, a draw at 3.7, and an away win at 5.5. Fischer’s streak of four games without defeat, even after squandering a 2-0 lead at Union, suggests that Mainz will at least appear more stable in this match than their position in the table would suggest. Those who nevertheless bet against the favorites will naturally find what they are looking for in a draw or an away win.
Mainz form & record check
Mainz goes into matchday 17 in 18th place in the table with 9 points, just 3 points behind Heidenheim directly above them. This really feels like a real basement battle on Tuesday. In the Bundesliga, the record is pressing, too many draws, too little reward for decent phases, which is also reflected in the form curve DDDLL. The mood seems more stable, but the urgency is obvious. It ended 2-2 at Union Berlin, and the story was that Mainz gave up a two-goal lead, a familiar theme when the switch is suddenly flipped after their own pressure. The 0-0 draw at home against St. Pauli showed the other side, lots of structure but too little punch when games get tough. Interestingly, the 2-2 draw at Bayern underlined their fight and danger from set pieces, even if the phases without the ball remain long. Across all competitions, there have been four draws and a 2-0 win against Samsunspor in the last five games, plus a 1-1 draw at Lech Poznan. Mainz has scored in most of these games, often before the break, with Amiri linking up well with Lee and Hollerbach. With Zentner, Caci, Mwene, and Leitsch missing, game management remains tricky, and Silas is ineligible for UEFA games until January 30, 2026.
Fischer is likely to stick with a 3-5-2 formation, basically based on recent static data, with Batz as the probable number one behind a back three of da Costa, Bell, and Kohr. Widmer and Veratschnig are expected to provide width as wingbacks, while Sano and Amiri dictate the tempo in the center and Lee pops up between the lines. Up front, Hollerbach could start alongside Tietz. The absences are mainly in defense: Zentner is still out, which keeps Batz clearly in pole position, and the injuries to Mwene and Caci leave Mainz looking a little thin at full-back. Leitsch and Dal are also unavailable, so Hanche Olsen would probably be the first option as center back from the bench. Further forward, Bøving is ill, and Silas is not eligible to play in Europa League games.
Heidenheim Form & Record Check
Heidenheim’s league form has been inconsistent, but it’s not hopeless: The 2-1 wins at Union Berlin and at home against Freiburg have shown that Schmidt’s team can consistently play on the counter and defend a lead. The downside, however, was a 4-0 home defeat to Bayern and a 2-1 loss at FC St. Pauli, in which they were clearly outplayed for long periods. The recent 2-2 draw against Cologne pretty much summed up this picture. Against Cologne, they took the lead twice, first through Pieringer’s early finish, then through Niehues’ goal, but after the equalizer, the momentum shifted too easily each time. This vulnerability is reflected in the statistics: Heidenheim has conceded a goal before halftime in each of its last five league games, trailing at the break in four of them. All five games also saw more than 2.5 goals scored, an indication of games that they find difficult to settle and close out cleanly. The table shows why such details matter. Heidenheim are 17th in the table with 12 points, level on points with St. Pauli and only three ahead of Mainz, so a decent performance without a win at the end is not enough to get them out of the relegation battle. The personnel situation is not getting any easier: Paçarada is suspended, Behrens and Rothweiler are injured, which takes away options on the left and in midfield. The winter link to Dinkci is interesting, but remains open.
Heidenheim is likely to stick with Schmidt’s familiar 4-3-2-1, with Ramaj the likely choice in goal behind Traoré, Mainka, Siersleben, and Föhrenbach. In midfield, Dorsch should act as the anchor, with Schöppner and Niehues at his side, while Conteh and Ibrahimovic will drop back behind Pieringer to keep the pressing compact and start quick transitions. This is a prediction, not a confirmed starting lineup.
Mainz – Heidenheim Head-to-head comparison & statistics
Heidenheim has the slight edge in the last four encounters, with two wins to Mainz’s one, plus a draw. However, the most recent encounter in February 2025 turned the tables, with Mainz winning 2-0 away. Before that, Heidenheim won 2-0 in Mainz in 2024 and drew 1-1 at home. In 2023, they also snatched a 1-0 win in Mainz. Goals were few and far between, which is the most striking feature of this four-game head-to-head series. All four games had fewer than 2.5 goals, with only seven goals scored in total, Heidenheim 4, Mainz 3. The first halves were also close, with fewer than 1.5 goals each time. Such games are often decided by a decisive moment rather than by major shifts in momentum. Interestingly, Mainz’s two home games in this series both ended without them scoring, a 0-1 defeat in 2023 and a 0-2 defeat in 2024, which makes it seem as if Heidenheim arrived with a clear plan. Heidenheim also scored in three consecutive head-to-head matches from 2023 to 2024 before failing to score in February 2025. It may well be that Mainz’s cleaner defensive work is slowly having an effect.
