Our next opponents: Youth comes to the fore

Position

Mainz could not resist taking a pot shot in the direction of Munich last Saturday. "8 times champions? Boring! 11 times staying up? World-class Mainz" was to be seen on the T-shirts the players and coaches put on after the final whistle. Behind them lay intense days in a relegation battle with lots of emotion and a lot to celebrate. In the double fixture week, Mainz surprisingly, but deservedly, beat the Bundesliga runners-up from Dortmund 2-0 and on Saturday they added to that with a 3-1 win against direct rivals Werder Bremen. That meant top flight status in Germany for the eleventh time in succession. Sporting director Rouven Schröder gave an emotional speech to the team on the pitch. Highlights required? "We're still in the Bundesliga because we're good, because we are talents, because we are older players, because we are a team! That's all that counts. I'm proud of you!" It was clear to see the tension disappear and not just from Schröder. Mainz have a season behind them where the club was almost permanently in a relegation battle and the team was fifteenth in the table for almost the whole of the second half of the season. But then, at just the right moment, the team from Rhinehessen had their best run of the campaign, winning three of their last four Bundesliga matches. So it is clear the team will be carried to Leverkusen on a huge wave of euphoria after the last few days.

Personnel

The good results in recent weeks are definitely also due to the fact Achim Beierlorzer has had almost his full squad available. After Mainz missed big players like Jean-Philippe Mateta or Danny Latza due to injury for parts of the season, most of the key players were fit again for the crucial phase of the run-in. On top of that, a number of youth players performed well in important games: The 19-year-old striker Jonathan Burkardt appeared in the starting line-up at Dortmund almost out of the blue to score the important opening goal with a header, right back Ridle Baku provided exemplary assists against BVB and against Bremen.

The season was over early for the regular first choice keeper Robin Zentner after he suffered a torn cruciate just before the break caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, his stand-in Florian Müller has been brilliant – also another home-grown Mainz player – and his impressive performance against Bremen saw Müller make the Kicker team of the matchday. Beierlorzer will also have to manage in Leverkusen without the loan striker from Liverpool Taiwo Awoniyi who suffered concussion in a heavy collision in the match against Augsburg in the middle of June and had to be carried off the pitch in a neck brace. Also missing for the season finale at the BayArena is Jean-Paul Boetius who picked up his fifth yellow card at Bremen.

Problems

The absence of Boetius could be a significant blow to the Mainz game. The Dutchman is indispensable to the Mainz attack as the playmaker in midfield often sets up the fast and physically strong forwards with his outstanding technique and vision. If Boetius does not play then the Mainz attack is short of a quality that no other player in the squad can provide. On top of that, the midfielder has recently been in impressive form and he scored the important goal to make it 2-0 against Werder Bremen with an accurate low drive. And: His value for the team overall is not to be underestimated as Boetius does a lot of defensive work thanks to his ability to cover ground. That could have been an important factor against the Werkself side that likes to have possession.

PotenTial

It is no surprise the youngsters have made such an important contribution in recent weeks. Youth development at Mainz has been centre stage for years and they have succeeded in bringing through players like André Schürrle, Suart Serdar and Loris Karius – and now Müller, Baku and Burkardt, who all played an important role in again maintaining top-flight status. So long as Mainz are able to bring young players through to the senior squad, FSV will not just be able to maintain their club philosophy but also reap benefits on the pitch and financially over the long term.

Prediction

Relegation is no longer an issue for Mainz after Saturday. But their final position is not yet certain. Depending on their result against the Werkself and other matches, Mainz could finish anywhere from eleventh to fifteenth. That not only makes a difference in terms of TV income but also in the attitude of the players. So they will definitely give their all at Leverkusen to end the season on a high note.