Mainz 05 vs Bayern Munich

A place in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals is at stake as underperforming Mainz 05 and out-of-sorts Bayern Munich go head-to-head at the Mewa Arena.

Mainz opened their DFB-Pokal campaign with an overwhelming 3-0 triumph at lower-league Erzgebirge Aue before overcoming Lubeck by that exact scoreline to set up this contest. Bo Svensson’s men hammered fellow Bundesliga strugglers Bochum 5-2 at the weekend, so despite entering this clash as pre-match underdogs, Mainz’s confidence should not be in short supply. Adding to this sentiment, ‘Die Nullfunfer’ have won their last two home meetings with Bayern Munich, noticeably scoring precisely two first-half goals on each occasion. After failing to keep a clean sheet in four consecutive home outings in the build-up to this clash, another quick-fire start could be of the essence.

In the meantime, keen to make amends for failing to progress beyond the DFB-Pokal round two in the last two seasons, Bayern Munich have been ruthless in the cup competition this term. The perennial Bundesliga champions thumped lower-league Viktoria Koln 5-0 in the opening round and picked Augsburg apart 5-2 in the follow-up to reach this stage. However, Julian Nagelsmann’s men spurned a 1-0 halftime lead in a lackluster 1-1 home draw with Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend. Indeed, the ‘Bavarians’ have opened the new calendar year with three identical Bundesliga stalemates, allowing second-placed Union Berlin to reduce the gap to a single-point. Indeed, before drawing at RB Leipzig in their 2023 top-flight opener, Bayern had won six successive away matches in all competitions.