Relegation-threatened Mainz 05 seek back-to-back Bundesliga wins at Mewa Arena when they take on Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.
The home side are two unbeaten in front of their supporters, with a 1-0 triumph over Augsburg on February 17 only the Carnival Club's second success on familiar soil this season, and they hope to secure three points in gameweek 24 against opponents that do not travel well.
Match preview
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Jan Siewert's disastrous Mainz spell lasted three months, with Bo Henriksen instigating the club's second Bundesliga win of the season, even if that triumph over Augsburg has not taken the struggling Carnival Club outside the bottom two.
Mainz are 10 points behind 15th-placed Bochum with only 11 games remaining, pointing to 17th-placed Koln as the realistic side to supplant.
Due to the two-point gap between the sides, Henriksen possibly sees ending in the relegation playoff spot as the target for this side in the concluding months of the 2023-24 campaign in their battle to beat the drop.
History certainly is against the 05ers, who are keen to overcome their worst-ever performance at this stage of a Bundesliga season, with no club accruing so few points at this stage ever beating the drop.
Henriksen hopes his team prove their mettle in the relegation run-in starting from Saturday when the second-bottom side hope to extend their unbeaten league run against Gladbach to seven games.
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Their opponents previously held a five-match winning streak against Mainz, but the tide has turned in recent meetings, underscored by the Foals' inability to defeat the Carnival club in six games, with last season's corresponding fixture ending in a heavy 4-0 loss.
Three of those six matches in their winless run against this weekend's opponents have ended in stalemates, and a similar outcome for Gerardo Seoane's men should count as a positive result for a side with only one away victory this term.
Five defeats have been suffered in their last six Bundesliga games, with the one point a surprising goalless encounter against Bayer Leverkusen at BayArena at the end of January.
With no away win since September's 3-1 victory at Bochum, Gladbach hope to record one against the team with the league's second-worst home record (nine points, three more than Darmstadt's six).
Neither side is in fine form heading into this weekend's encounter, making gameweek 24's fixture hard to predict.
Team News
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Mainz are battling with multiple absentees, with Anthony Caci and Jessic Ngankam suspended, having had the former pick up multiple yellows and the latter getting sent off last weekend.
Ludovic Ajorque is a doubt because of illness, while Brajan Gruda (ankle), Edimilson Fernandes (ankle), Andreas Hanche-Olsen (hamstring), Maxim Leitsch (groin), Nelson Weiper (knee) and Stefan Bell are expected to miss Saturday's fixture.
Gladbach have two players — Nico Elvedi and Ko Itakura — suspended for picking up multiple bookings.
Jonas Omlin (shoulder) is a doubt, but Alassane Plea (foot) and Tomas Cvancara (ankle) are anticipated to miss out.
Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:
Zentner; Kohr, Berg, Guilavogui; Widmer, Barreiro, Amiri, Mwene; Gruda, Onisiwo, Lee
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Nicolas; Scally, Friedrich, Wober, Netz; Kone, Weigl, Neuhaus; Honorat, Siebatcheu, N'Goumou
We say: Mainz 05 1-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
Neither side is in positive form, and the spoils could be shared at the home of the strugglers this weekend.
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