Freiburg vs Mainz

Freiburg’s decent start to the new Bundesliga campaign faces a potential banana skin as bottom-half Mainz touch down at the Europa-Park Stadion.

Despite slumping to a 3-1 defeat at in-form RB Leipzig last time out, Freiburg’s start to life under manager Julian Schuster has been impressive, with five wins from the opening eight Bundesliga rounds (L3) seeing them eclipse their point haul at this stage of last season. Schuster’s men began this round in fifth, albeit level on points with reigning holders Bayer Leverkusen in third, after returning to winning ways in midweek DFB-Pokal action with a 2-1 triumph against second-tier Hamburger SV. That victory came at the Europa-Park Stadion, where Freiburg won three of their four Bundesliga matches this season (L1), suggesting a seventh consecutive unbeaten H2H against lowly Mainz could be on the cards (W2, D4).

Meanwhile, Mainz’s memories of DFB-Pokal proceedings during midweek weren’t fond, as Bayern Munich humbled them 4-0, dampening their spirits after a valiant 1-1 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend. Firmly embroiled in an early relegation scrap, the visitors languish only one point clear of 16th-placed TSG Hoffenheim, having only won two of their opening eight Bundesliga matches (D3, L3). However, they’ve excelled on the road, with both those victories coming outside the WWK Arena, where they’ve yet to lose a top-flight fixture this season (W2, D1). Impressively, Mainz scored precisely three goals on all three Bundesliga road trips this season, accounting for 75% of their top-flight strikes (9/12).