FSV Mainz 05 – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
We can look forward to an exciting Bundesliga weekend, as the games become more and more important towards the end of the season. The clash between Mainz 05 and TSG Hoffenheim sees two teams with a lot at stake, albeit in different regions of the table. Find out who has the better cards in this game and who will win in the end in our Mainz – Hoffenheim betting tip.
Mainz are still fighting to avoid relegation and sent a strong signal to their rivals with their 4-0 win last weekend. Nevertheless, the relegation battle is still far from decided and anything is still possible for Mainz, from reaching the safety of the league to direct relegation.
Hoffenheim are fighting for a place in the European Cup and were also able to win their match against direct rivals Augsburg last weekend. The battle for the international places is extremely exciting and several teams are still hoping to qualify for Europe
Mainz – Hoffenheim info
- Date & Time: 13:04.2024, 3:30 pm
- Playing venue: Mewa Arena, Mainz
- Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 29
- TV broadcast/livestream: Sky
Mainz Form & Balance Check
Mainz have now fully embraced the relegation battle. After the 1:8 defeat against Bayern, coach Bo Henriksen’s team have picked up seven points from their last three games and their recent success against Darmstadt has enabled them to defend their relegation place for the time being.
The 05s currently have one more point than Cologne, who are breathing down their necks. Fifteenth place, and thus non-relegation, is only three points away. Another success and some help from Heidenheim could take Mainz out of the relegation zone as early as this matchday
Offense at last
Mainzer’s recent 4:0 win was balm for the fans. But it also shows that Mainz have gained a lot of goal threat since coach Henriksen took over. Mainz’s major shortcoming was their offense, as they only scored 16 goals in 21 games before the Dane took over.
Under Henrisken they added ten goals in seven games and since then there has only been one game in which Mainz have failed to score. They want to maintain this goal threat in order to stay in the Bundesliga after all
Mainz facts & analysis
- 15th place in the table
- Last game won
- Not lost in three games
Hoffenheim Form & Balance Check
Hoffenheim also did their homework last weekend and defeated FCA 3:1. Before that, however, they had suffered three defeats in a row, leaving TSG in the chasing pack for the possible seventh qualifying spot for a European competition.
With 36 points, the Kraichgauers are level on points with Augsburg and Freiburg. They absolutely need a three-pointer against Mainz to remain in this three-way battle. They are six points off sixth place and thus a guaranteed place in the Conference League
Changes worked
In the final game, it was above all TSG’s changes that secured victory over Augsburg. With five changes, Hoffenheim coach Pellegrino Matarazzo completely exhausted his contingent of substitutes. The substitutions of John Anthony Brooks and Ihlas Bebou in particular paid off in the end.
Brooks came into the defense for the somewhat shaky Ozan Kabak and provided much more security after FCA had scored the equalizer in the meantime. Bebou’s goal in the 90th minute decided the game and earned the Kraichgauers three extremely important points
Hoffenheim facts & analysis
- Eighth place in the table
- Last game won
- Only three points from the last four games
After Mainz’s strong performance last weekend, we don’t expect any changes to the starting line-up. In the 3-4-3 system, the back line of Dominik Kohr, Sepp van den Berg and Andreas Hanche-Olsen has proven itself recently. Brajan Gruda was still a little injured during the week, but will probably be able to play. If not, Silvan Widmer or Tom Krauß would be possible substitutes.
In TSG’s 3-5-2 system, we also expect hardly any changes to the starting line-up. Only Brooks could replace Kabak in the back three. Bebou, Umut Tohumcu and Marius Bülter remain wildcard options from the bench. Robert Skov has not gotten any minutes in midfield recently, but would also be fit to play
Mainz – Hoffenheim head-to-head & stats
29 first league games and two games in the 2nd Bundesliga have already been played between Mainz and Hoffenheim. Mainz lead the direct comparison with 13 wins to nine and have only lost a single game against Hoffenheim in the last five duels. The points were shared in the first leg this season. The historic first meeting took place in 2007. The Kraichgau side narrowly won 1-0 in that second division encounter, the same season TSG were promoted to the German top flight. A year later, they were followed by Mainz
Direct comparison (H2H)
