On Saturday afternoon, Mainz and Arminia Bielefeld meet at the OPEL Arena, in what could be a pivotal game in the fight for survival in the Bundesliga.
Since the arrival of Bo Svensson as head coach Mainz have moved up the table slowly but surely. At one point the home side looked doomed to life in the German second tier next season.
However, they head into this game two points ahead of Saturday’s 17th place opponents and a point clear of Koln who are in the relegation play-off spot.
Mainz have mounted a three-game unbeaten league run of late, including wins over Freiburg and Hoffenheim and also a draw against bottom club Schalke, which turned out to be a disappointing result in the end for Svensson’s team.
They head into this clash having also lost just once in their previous seven league outings, a record that suggests that the team on the Rhine River will have enough to move away from the danger zone.
Arminia Bielefeld started the season as one of the favourites to suffer relegation from the Bundesliga this season. Those expectations have become reality, as the visitors are now 17th place in the German top-flight table.
The visitors are just a point behind 16th place Koln and a win would move them above Mainz and out of the relegation. The problem for Bielefeld is that wins have been in very short supply of late in the Bundesliga.
They head into this clash on the back of six defeats in their last nine league matches, having won just once in the run.
Their recent away form in the German top-flight has been mixed, but the visitors have won just one of their previous five away matches in the Bundesliga.
Forebet predicts that Mainz will continue their recent good run of form to move further clear of the relegation zone, leaving Arminia Bielefeld in a highly perilous position in the table.