Mainz 05 are looking for a response away to Schalke 04 on Saturday. The 05ers are coming off a 3-4 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen and aim to get back to winning ways in Gelsenkirchen.
Recent results have been mixed. Before the Leverkusen loss came a 3-0 friendly win at Waldhof Mannheim and a thrilling 4-3 victory at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Preceding those were a 1-3 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt and a 5-0 rout at Hamburger SV. Their form over the last five competitive games reads LWWLW.
Schalke 04 on a poor run
The hosts from Gelsenkirchen are also struggling. Schalke lost 1-2 at Freiburg last time out and could only draw 0-0 with Elversberg before that. A win at Union Berlin in early September is now a distant memory. The Royal Blues are currently in 13th place.
Tactical similarities expected
Both teams deployed a back three in their most recent outings. Mainz used a 3-5-2 formation with Schwolow in goal and the attacking threat of Tietz, who has four goals this season. Schalke lined up in a 3-4-2-1 with Karius between the posts. A similar tactical battle is anticipated on Saturday at the Veltins-Arena.
Kick-off on matchday six is at 15:30 local time. For Mainz, the task is to continue their positive away form and consolidate their league position.
Following the 3-4 home defeat to Leverkusen, a long-term injured Mainz 05 player returned to team training on Tuesday. The club confirmed the news. The eighth-placed Bundesliga side, which has scored 13 goals this season, hopes for a further boost ahead of the away match at Schalke 04.
Paul Nebel missed the Leverkusen game for non-sporting reasons. Manager Urs Fischer confirmed a different cause. "It was a private, joyful occasion," Fischer said. The midfielder became a father. Nebel is now available again for the team, which has the league's eighth-best attack with 13 goals scored this season.
