Will the Rheinhessen side end the old lady’s short run?

With five out of a possible nine points from the last three games, Hertha BSC have been able to gain a little breathing space in the bottom of the table. The capital city team is in 14th place and four points ahead of the relegation zone. Now, however, the old lady plays host to Mainz, who have not lost any of their last five games in their own stadium.

The Nullfünfer also had FC Bayern on the brink of defeat away from home on Saturday. In the end, the Rheinhessen side lost 1:2, but still managed to leave with their heads held high. Accordingly, in the run-up to the match between Mainz and Hertha, the odds are swinging in the direction of the red and whites.

Mainz have only won one of their last five league games. Nevertheless, the form curve continues to point upwards under Bo Svensson in what has been an outstanding 2021 calendar year overall. In addition, they have not lost a single one of the last six competitive games against Berlin in their own stadium.

Accordingly, the betting on a home win for Mainz against Hertha is good.

Mainz – Statistics & current form

Just a year ago, 1. FSV Mainz 05 were almost completely down. After a disastrous first half of the season, the Rheinhessen side already looked like certain relegation candidates. But then Bo Svensson took over as coach on 4 January 2021 and led the club back to success.

After a superb second half of the season, in which Mainz beat Bayern, RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg, three of the four teams that finished in the top four of the final table, they finally managed to stay in the league.

Only five points out of a possible 15 from the last five games

At the start of the new season, the Rheinhessen side’s worries are minor, even in the context of a minor drought. Admittedly, the Red and Whites only picked up five of a possible 15 points from their last five league games. As eighth in the table, however, they are looking more towards Europe than towards the relegation zone.

Nevertheless, FSV must be careful. A prolonged negative streak could quickly lead them back to the bottom of the table. Accordingly, the Nullfünfer must take the home game against Hertha seriously, who are six places behind Mainz in the table, but in fact have only three points less on their account.

The best home defence in the Bundesliga

The Rheinhessen side’s biggest asset is undoubtedly their very well-sorted defence, which has conceded just 16 goals in 15 league games. Only Freiburg (15) have conceded fewer goals so far. And because Jonathan Burkardt, the best German scorer in the Bundesliga, is always a threat up front, Svensson’s team has the right overall package at the moment.

Accordingly, the betting on the next home win for Mainz against Hertha, who have only lost one of their eight league home games so far in the 2021/22 season, is good. What’s more, they have only conceded five goals at home, making them the best home defence in the Bundesliga.

Predicted Mainz line-up:
Zentner – Niakhaté – Hack – Bell – Aaron – Stach – Widmer – Boetius – Lee – Onisiwo – Burkardt

Hertha – Statistics & current form

Um Hertha BSC is still not in as good a shape as those responsible would like it to be, also in view of the immense investments made in recent years. Instead of making the capital club a permanent guest in Europe – preferably, of course, directly in the Champions League – the sad daily routine is once again relegation.

Only last season, the Berliners saved themselves late and ended the season in 14th place. Not much has really changed since then. After the 15th matchday of the new season, the 14th place in the table is still on the record.

Unbeaten three games in a row for the first time in the 2021/22 season

Lately, there has been another change of coach at the old lady. Under Dárdái’s successor Tayfun Korkut, the team celebrated its first win in its second match on Saturday. The capital defeated Arminia Bielefeld 2:0 and gained some breathing space in the bottom of the table.

This means that there is even something like a small series on record at the moment. For the first time in the 2021/22 season, the Berliners remained undefeated in three consecutive league games (one win, two draws) and picked up five points out of a possible nine.

The second weakest defence in the Bundesliga

However, there is still clear potential for improvement in almost all areas. After five games in a row in which they conceded a total of eight goals, Hertha conceded no goals for the first time. However, a total of 29 goals have already been conceded, which means that Hertha continue to have the second-weakest defence in the Bundesliga behind bottom-placed Fürth.

Incidentally, 22 of these 29 goals have been conceded in the eight away games so far, which means that a difficult task awaits the Korkut eleven at the home strong Nullfünfer.

Predicted line-up of Hertha:
Schwolow – Plattenhardt – Stark – Boyata – Zeefuik – Darida – Ascacibar – Serdar – Richter – Jovetic – Belfodil

Mainz – Hertha Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

Head to head: 10 – 16 – 13

There have been a total of 39 meetings between the two teams so far and overall the balance is slightly in favour of the Berliners. However, FSV have lost just one of their last nine league games against Hertha and have also remained unbeaten at home against the capital on six consecutive occasions.

Mainz – Hertha Tip

For Mainz against Hertha, the forecast has to take into account the defensive vulnerability of the Berliners. Although the old lady played in the second match under Tayfun Korkut for the first time to zero, it was then in the form of Bielefeld also had to deal with the weakest offense in the Bundesliga. Now, the capital city side visit the defensively strong Rheinhessen side, who have only lost one of their eight league games at home.

Also because the Berliners travel with the second-weakest defence in the Bundesliga and have not won any of their last six away games in Mainz, there is a lot to be said for tip 1 in this duel.