RB Leipzig is hosting FSV Mainz at Red Bull Arena in round 18 of the German Bundesliga. Leipzig is terrible on the road this season, but they are quite solid at home, and that is the only thing keeping them alive this season. Mainz has been hot and cold so far this season, but they are also much better at home than on the road.
Leipzig will be missing a lot of players for this game, and most of them are starters, but the one they might miss the most is Nkunku who is still questionable for this game. Even with all the injuries, Leipzig remains a solid team, but they are struggling with scoring goals. Even since they got the new head coach, Leipzig has been playing better, but they are still very far away from their best form. With only 22 points from 17 games, Leipzig is in 10th place, and the Champions League spot seems like a dream right now. Nkunku has been the best player for Leipzig with 7 goals and 5 assists, and he is basically carrying this team, but as I’ve mentioned, he is still questionable. The injury list is long, but one advantage Leipzig has is that they are playing at home.
Mainz has been solid this season, but they have won only 2 of their last 7 games, and they have lost to Eintracht in their last game before the break. Defensively, Mainz is one of the best in the league with only 17 conceded goals, as the matter of fact, only one team is better than them. As far as their offense goes, Mainz is not bad, but they could do a lot better because they have the quality. The good news for Mainz is their schedule is not bad over the next few weeks, but there are no easy games for them. Burkardt is the leading goalscorer for Mainz with 7 goals. Onisiwo has added 5 assists. Mainz is solid when it comes to injuries, yes, they have a few, but there isn’t a team in Bundesliga who doesn’t. Mainz is still close to Europe in the standings, and they are now in 9th place with 24 points, but their defense might get them further, as long as they can keep up in the attacking end.
As I’ve mentioned, results at home are the only thing keeping Leipzig in the race in Bundesliga, but with all the injuries, I’m not sure they can get a win here. I will take the goals in this one.