Our next opponents: Mainz 05 difficult to beat

POSITION

The club from Rheinhessen are having their best season in six years. In 2015/16, they had two more points (33) at the same point in the season (31). Mainz finished that season in sixth place and qualified for the UEFA Europa League under coach Martin Schmidt, the current sporting director at the club. Bo Svensson has been the head coach at Mainz 05 for a year now. The Dane, who played for Mainz for seven years, led the club away from the bottom of the table and succeeded in avoiding the drop with a strong finish to the campaign. Mainz have been higher up the table from the start of this season. They were fifth on matchday ten and ended the first half of the season in ninth place just three points away from the European qualifying places. The position in the table is the same for Mainz now. After two defeats in the DFB Cup Round of 16 at VfL Bochum (1-3) and against bottom of the table SpVgg Greuther Fürth (1-2), the Svensson team are back on track. After a 2-0 home win against TSG Hoffenheim, Mainz took a point from the game against SC Freiburg at the weekend (1-1) – that was the first point gained away from home since the end of October.

PERSONneL

The fact he was able to bring on two strikers just before the end of the game at Freiburg was seen by Svensson as a sheer "luxury." For a long time there have been serious problems with personnel in the Mainz attack. Jonathan Burkardt and Karim Onisiwo were the only forwards available for large parts of the season. Svensson was able to replace them late on in the game at Freiburg when he brought on Adam Szalai and Marcus Ingvartsen. The joy at the return of the 34-year-old Hungarian Szalai did not last long for Mainz: The club made a surprise announcement on Wednesday that Szalai was joining FC Basel with immediate effect. The striker, who made 146 appearances for Mainz 05, has signed a deal to the summer of 2023. His contract at Mainz was due to run out at the end of the season. "We met his wishes after a short but intensive discussion at the footballing level because we did not want to block that opportunity for him," said sporting director Christian Heidel.

Despite that sudden departure, the team from Rheinhessen have strength up front. At the end of January, FSV signed the 23-year-old striker Delano Borgzorg on loan from Dutch top-flight side Heracles Almelo. Svensson believes the new signing has great potential: “He's the complete package we've not had in the side up to now. He's a one-on-one player, is tall and has pace."

The coach was very relieved by the return of Dominic Kohr in the Mainz central midfield. The 28-year-old former Leverkusen player, on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt, was back in the starting line-up for the first time since matchday 12 due to a protracted muscle and ligament injury he suffered at Freiburg. "Dome just fits in perfectly with our game with his ability and quality," said Svensson. "He is experienced and has a settling effect on us. His performances are very solid. You can rely on him as a player and as a person." Anton Stach, who was an excellent stand-in for Kohr in holding midfield, should now join him in providing physicality and ball-winning strength in the Mainz midfield. Svensson will have to manage without defender Jeremiah St Juste on Friday night as he faces a long spell on the sidelines following a shoulder operation.

Performers

Mainz have the best defence in the league with 24 goals conceded. And they are also in top position in the ranking of clean sheets with eight games without letting a goal in. The Mainz defence is particularly hard to break down at home. Worth noting: They have won all of their last four home games at the MEWA Arena without conceding. FSV goalkeeper Robin Zentner has only been beaten five times in eleven games at his own ground – and that is five goals less than Bayern at the Allianz Arena and 14 less than Bayer 04 at the BayArena. Bo Svensson has an apparently simple explanation for that: "Of course, we define ourselves by our pressing game. It's no secret that we’ve won a lot of points because of that. The good work off the ball just plays an important role." And it's essential to have "18, 19, 20 people who can all act to that common plan." The Mainz coach prefers to play a 3-5-2 formation this season. The back three has most recently been made up of captain Moussa Niakhaté, Alexander Hack and Stefan Bell. The wing backs are the Spaniard Aaron on the left and the Swiss Silvan Widmer on the right who, along with keeper Zentner, is the only Mainz player to have started in all 22 games so far. It will be exciting to see how the Werkself can get on top as the strongest attacking team in the second half of the season against Mainz who have the best defence this term.

PROBLEMs

A force to be reckoned with at home, Mainz have also picked up some points on the road. Only two wins (at TSG Hoffenheim and Arminia Bielefeld) and one draw (at Freiburg) have been recorded away from home. Svensson does see the 1-1 draw at Freiburg, the only away point since the end of October, as a step forwards. Jonathan Burkardt would like to do the same by ending his goal drought. The 21-year-old has not scored in the Bundesliga for 706 minutes. He scored his seventh and last up to this point in the 3-0 win against VfL Wolfsburg at the start of December. The captain of the Germany U21 team is still the most prolific goalscorer at Mainz and, together with his strike partner Karim Onisiwo (three goals, seven assists), he plays up front. There is now more competition in the Mainz attack with the return of Marcus Ingvartsen and the rapid new signing Delano Borgzorg, which gives Svensson more options.

PRediction

If Mainz can maintain their defensive solidity, also be more successful away from home and star striker Jonathan Burkardt can again be as prolific in front of goal as in the autumn then the club will not only be in sight of a European spot but also in with a chance of qualifying for Europe. However, Mainz must overcome the next challenge on Friday night first.