Mainz vs Borussia Dortmund

December 11, 2017
By: Milos Markovic

Injury-depleted Borussia Dortmund travel to Mainz this Tuesday in effort to turn the terrible season around with new coach Peter Stoger on a mission to save both his new side and his own reputation.

Mainz fearing the worst

With only one win in their last seven Bundesliga matches, Mainz have been pushed down the pecking order and currently sit in 14th place in the standings with only one-point advantage in front of relegation threatened sides.

Sandro Schwarz stepped in to replace martin Schmidt back in May but now finds himself under pressure with his side winning only four league matches after 15 rounds. Mainz showed some improvement in their trip to RB Leipzig this weekend as they managed to salvage a point thanks to a 2-2 draw achieved late in the game through Emil Berggreen who scored with three minutes left on the clock to end his team’s two-match mini losing run. Mainz lost four of their last five meetings with Dortmund but will harbour some chances of getting a positive result from the Tuesday’s encounter given the fact their rivals are not enjoying a purple patch at the moment.

Goalkeeper Rene Adler will miss the match through a thigh injury while defender Niko Bungert and forward Karim Onisiwo are also unavailable.

What’s going on with Dortmund?

One of the biggest teams in Germany, Borussia Dortmund, are going through a difficult time.

Following the season of failed expectations which saw manager Thomas Tuchel receiving a sack, the fans were hopeful their team would be able to get back to winning ways under Peter Bosz. Things did not go according to plan for Bosz this season as he led Dortmund to only one win in 13 games across all competitions. The poor spell culminated with a 2-1 derby defeat at the hands of Schalke which resulted in Borussia Dortmund parting ways with Peter Bosz. Former FC Koln manager Peter Stoeger was announced his replacement on Sunday and will lead the team in his debut game in charge this week. Stoeger was sacked as FC Koln head coach the previous Sunday after his side failed to record a single win in 14 games of the season and will be under pressure and obligation to clear his name and lead the German giants forward.

Stoeger is faced with an injury crisis at Dortmund with no less than eight players unavailable for the midweek duel. Castro, Durm, Gotze, Larsen, Philipp, Piszczek, Reus and Rode are all out of contention.

Verdict

The midweek round brings a clash between two under-pressure sides in Mainz. Hosts will be keen to put an end to their winless run with what would be a morale-boosting triumph over illustrious opponents, whereas Borussia Dortmund have their own agenda to fulfil with new manager in charge.

Top pick: Both teams to score – yes   1.61 (11/18) @10Bet

Alternative pick 1: Draw   4.2 (16/5) @Betfair

Alternative pick 2: Under 2.5 goals   2.45 (16/11) @888sport

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