Wolfsburg vs Mainz

Volkswagen Arena is the venue as Wolfsburg and Mainz go head-to-head in a Bundesliga battle between the two underperforming sides.

Morale-damaging 6-1 defeat away to Borussia Dortmund last time out marked Wolfsburg’s fourth-heaviest loss in their Bundesliga history, casting doubt on Florian Kohfeldt’s future on the touchline. ‘Die Wolfe’ head into proceedings amid a rotten patch, having lost four of their last five Bundesliga fixtures (W1), conceding an average of 3.5 goals per reverse. Indeed, the abovementioned humiliation at Dortmund was their 16th league defeat of 2020/21, only losing more at this stage of a top-flight season in 2003/04. With Kohfeldt’s future at stake, Wolfsburg will be keen to halt Mainz’s two-game winning H2H streak in Germany’s top-flight. After a 4-0 drubbing of Arminia Bielefeld in their most recent Bundesliga outing at Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg could win back-to-back home league matches for the first time since August 2021.

In the meantime, since beating Bielefled in mid-March, Mainz have gone winless in their last four Bundesliga games (D2, L2), putting their faint hopes of a rare European finish into the realm of sci-fi. The visitors are winless in their last ten Bundesliga matches away from home (D2, L8), with only dead-last Greuther Furth (3) picking up fewer league points on the road than them (8) this season. Conceding first could land a knock-out blow on Mainz’s hopes of completing their first Bundesliga double over Wolfsburg since 2005/06. ‘Die Nullfünfer’ have lost nine out of ten away league matches in which they shipped the opening goal this season (D1). Another failed attempt to register a shutout would see Mainz equal an unwanted club record of 14 consecutive away Bundesliga fixtures without a clean sheet.