Urs Fischer is prioritising patience and development over harsh punishments for young players ahead of Mainz 05's trip to face Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Mainz head coach says he will not make a major issue of mistakes made by young defenders like Kacper Potulski and Fabio Gruber, who were involved in the 1-3 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt. "I played as a professional for 20 years myself." Fischer said. He stressed that players must learn from errors to correct them and confirmed both will start against Gladbach.

The team travels with positive momentum reflected in the league table. Mainz 05 sit fifth in the Bundesliga with seven points from four matches. Their last outing was a thrilling 4-3 win in Mönchengladbach just last weekend, with goals from Phillip Tietz and Sheraldo Becker. Tietz is currently the team's top scorer with three goals in three appearances. Their recent form shows three wins, a draw and one loss from the last five competitive games.

Goalkeeping Change Enforced

A forced change comes in goal. First-choice keeper Robin Zentner suffered a hand injury against Frankfurt and will be out for several weeks. His place between the posts will be taken by the experienced Alexander Schwolow. It is uncertain if Zentner can return after the upcoming international break. Aside from this injury, Dominik Kohr remains sidelined. Nine players from Fischer's squad will join their national teams after the weekend, including Nadiem Amiri, called up by Jürgen Klopp for Germany's first two matches.

Processing the Frankfurt Setback

Fischer admitted the Frankfurt defeat involved human factors and excessive expectations. "We looked at it together and resolved the matter," he explained regarding the handling of the loss. He felt Frankfurt won every duel and every second ball fell to the opponents' feet. Phillip Tietz had criticised after the match that the opponent wanted the victory more. The coach sees the foundation of their work in the consistent execution of football basics, which he rated overall as "solid" after three matchdays. The team showed a poor first half and better second half against SC Paderborn, preceded by a 5-0 thrashing of Hamburger SV.

The incident involving Nadiem Amiri, who threw away his captain's armband after the Frankfurt game, was also discussed internally. Fischer said he did not witness the moment live but stressed this isolated incident does not define the club. Focus is now fully on the sporting restart. The next home game after the break is on 10 October against Bayer Leverkusen. The current standings and full squad are available online. The match in Mönchengladbach kicks off on Saturday at 15:30.

The report in full is at FAZ Sport