RB Leipzig vs Mainz 05 20/09/20

20 September 2020

RB Leipzig and Mainz 05 face off at the Red Bull Arena, with the home side looking to replicate the same performance that brought them their highest-ever Bundesliga triumph. Last season’s showdown at this venue saw the hosts produce an astonishing 8-0 win!

Despite enjoying an outstanding 2019/20 that saw them lose just four times in the league, RB Leipzig could only manage a third-place finish last season. ‘Die Roten Bullen’ established themselves as ‘stalemate specialists’ back last season, playing out a league-high eight home draws. However, Mainz’s visit may evoke some happy memories, considering Julian Nagelsmann’s men have won three of their four Bundesliga H2Hs held at this venue (D1), each via at least a two-goal margin. In turn, a vast majority (85.71%) of their top-flight home triumphs last season yielded a goal margin of over 1.5. Additionally, free-scoring Leipzig netted an impressive average of 2.23 goals per Bundesliga home game last term despite scoring over 1.5 goals in ‘only’ ten (58.82%) of 19 home league outings.

As for the visitors, they barely avoided relegation in 2019/20 after lamenting a loss-rate of 55.88%. What’s more, four of their five league trips to last season’s top-five sides yielded a defeat (W1), three of which came via at least a two-goal margin. Mainz developed a habit of falling behind without recovering, giving their hosts on the day a lead in seven Bundesliga trips last season only to return a single point from such fixtures (D1, L6). Also, their defensive woes were brutally exposed on the road in 2019/20. Indeed, ‘Die Nullfünfer’ conceded the division’s fourth-high 36 away goals on an average of 2.11 goals allowed per Bundesliga trip.