Will Arminia win the cup?
In football, things sometimes happen very quickly. You’ve just said goodbye to your opponent and then you’re already facing each other again. There will be a quick reunion on Saturday in the Bundesliga in the match between Bielefeld and Mainz. Only on Tuesday, both teams faced each other in the DFB Cup in Mainz when the Rheinhessen team got the upper hand in extra time.
In the cup, both clubs played on equal terms and therefore a draw seems to be very possible on Saturday as well, even though the quotes on a score-split are usually very high. With a small stake, however, a bet on a draw in this duel does not seem to be a bad choice, as there is little room for surprises after the cup match on Tuesday.
In the current Bundesliga table, things don’t look particularly rosy for the East Westphalians. With just five points, they are only in second-to-last place. This puts the Arminen right in the middle of the relegation battle and against this background, we would at least refrain from making a prediction on a home victory between Bielefeld and Mainz.
The Rheinhessen, on the other hand, have had a much better start to the season. Bo Svensson has shaped this team into a unit that is currently in seventh place. If we only look at the table itself, then it is conceivable that a bet on a win for the visitors between Bielefeld and Mainz will be successful, whereby we expect another close match between these two opponents overall.
Bielefeld – Statistics & current form
Once again it is clear that the table does not lie. The East Westphalians are up to their necks for a reason, because apart from bottom team Fürth, the Bielefelders are the only team that has not yet won a Bundesliga match this season. And yet Arminia always start well and have not conceded a goal in the first quarter of the season.
Arminia still without a Bundesliga win
Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough for a win. For the first time in the club’s history, Arminia is still without a win after nine matchdays. On the other hand, Frank Kramer’s team is top in terms of draws. No team splits the points more often, so ahead of the match between Bielefeld and Mainz, we take a look at the odds for a draw.
The match in the cup in Mainz on Tuesday was also a draw after 90 minutes. Masaya Okugawa gave Arminia an early lead, Fabian Klos equalised in the final minute to make it 2-2. Six minutes before the end of extra time, however, the Bielefeld side conceded the final goal to make it 2:3. Now, all the more concentration is on the Bundesliga.
Personally, things could hardly look better on Saturday. After the cup match, there should also be a rotation at Arminia. Cedric Brunner, Joakim Nilsson and Jacob Laursen could move into the team. Fabian Klos and Janni Serra are alternatives for the attack. Only Sebastian Vasiliadis, who is still in rehabilitation training, is sure to be absent.
Predicted line-up of Bielefeld:
Ortega Moreno – Brunner, Pieper, Nilsson – Fernandes, Laursen – Prietl, Okugawa, Schöpf, Hack – Serra – Coach: Kramer
Last matches played by Bielefeld:
DFB Cup
10/26 2021 – Mainz 05 3 – 2 Arminia Bielefeld
1st Bundesliga
10/23 2021 – Arminia Bielefeld 1 – 3 Borussia Dortmund
10/17 2021 – Augsburg 1 – 1 Arminia Bielefeld
10/03 2021 – Arminia Bielefeld 0 – 4 Bayer Leverkusen
09/25 2021 – Union Berlin 1 – 0 Arminia Bielefeld
Mainz – Statistics & current form
Bo Svensson is a coach who is very orderly. Therefore, it is important to the Mainz coach that his team acts from a certain basic order and thus offers the opponent little space to develop. That’s why we expect the 05ers to have learned from their mistakes in the cup match on Saturday and that there won’t be an open exchange of blows.
Mainz much stronger than last year
At the same time, the coach can be very pleased with the way the season has gone so far, as Mainz have already collected almost twice as many points as they did in the entire first half of last season. The Rheinhessen side look extremely solid, so we think the first half will be a bit of a feeling-out affair and predict that Bielefeld and Mainz will only score a few goals in the first half.
That’s how it was on Tuesday in the cup match. Bielefeld went in front after two minutes in Mainz and it was only after the break that the 05ers found the right answer after goals from Jonathan Burkardt and Karim Onisiwo. After the late equaliser, Marcus Ingvartsen took on the hero’s role when he scored Mainz’s 3-2 winner in the 114th minute.
In terms of personnel, Mainz 05 also have nothing to complain about. Apparently, only Jeremiah St. Juste will be out after his shoulder injury. Otherwise, however, we can assume that Mainz will also manage the load after the unusual English week and bring some fresh players into the starting eleven.
Predicted line-up of Mainz:
Zentner – Bell, Hack, Niakhate – Widmer, Kohr. Aaron, Barreiro, Boetius – Onisiwo, Burkardt – coach: Svensson
Last matches played by Mainz:
DFB Cup
10/26 2021 – Mainz 05 3 – 2 Arminia Bielefeld
1st Bundesliga
10/22 2021 – Mainz 05 4 – 1 Augsburg
10/16 2021 – Borussia Dortmund 3 – 1 Mainz 05
10/03 2021 – Mainz 05 1 – 2 Union Berlin
09/25 2021 – Bayer Leverkusen 1 – 0 Mainz 05
Bielefeld – Mainz Direct comparison / H2H balance
In total, Arminia Bielefeld and Mainz 05 have only crossed paths 20 times. In a direct comparison, the East Westphalians are still ahead. Arminia leads 10:6 after victories, with four duels ending in a draw. It is interesting to note that Mainz have only won one of ten games at the Bielefeld Alm.
Overall, the 05ers also won only one of eight Bundesliga games against the East Westphalians. There has never been an away win in this pairing in the Bundesliga. The visitors have not even taken the lead once in these duels.
Bielefeld – Mainz Tip
Tuesday in the cup we saw that it is always difficult to win a Bundesliga match, even if the opponent is in the bottom of the table. There will be no extra time in the league match and therefore we can imagine that the points will be shared after 90 minutes in this duel on Saturday.
Mainz have only ever won once at the Bielefeld Alm. Furthermore, there has never been an away win in the pairings of these two teams in the top flight. Even though the Mainz side are favoured by the bookmakers, we won’t be tempted to bet on an away win between Bielefeld and Mainz.
We assume that both coaches will adjust their tactics somewhat and act more defensively. Therefore, we can imagine that there will be significantly fewer goals than in the cup on Tuesday. Because Arminia have not yet won a Bundesliga match, we have decided to play the betting odds on a draw in the match between Bielefeld and Mainz.
