Lipsia-Mainz is a match of the 27th day of the Bundesliga and is played on Saturday at 3:30 pm: live TV, probable formations, predictions.
While the fight for the Meisterschale, which for months has been confined to Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, has cooled a bit due to the huge gap between first and second place, the fight for fourth place is bound to flare up. And at the moment, with surprising Stuttgart not giving an inch, it sees two teams, Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, as the protagonists.
Both should, in fact, have been fighting for first place – at least these were the initial plans – having tried on several occasions in recent years to end the “dictatorship” of the Bavarians. Something went wrong, however, and to even end the season outside the top four – and the Champions League – would not be tolerable. Leipzig this weekend has a golden opportunity and that is to take advantage of a probable misstep by Edin Terzic’s yellow-and-whites, who are engaged in the big match of the day, the long-awaited Klassiker against Bayern Munich. Marco Rose thus plans the coveted overtaking of his former team: the Roten Bullen have a commitment on paper within reach, facing the third-last in the standings, Mainz.
Lipsia healthy
For Leipzig, it is a particularly positive moment. Before the break, the red and whites had strung together three consecutive victories, and in the last round they were literally unleashed in the away match in Cologne, going on to score as many as five goals (1-5).
Let’s talk about a team that, despite exiting the Champions League, gave Real Madrid a hard time, which eventually went through thanks to a narrow success in the first leg in Germany. Mainz is not scary, but the Nullfunfers are still alive and two weeks ago they reacted in a big way after the terrible defeat suffered at the Allianz Arena with Bayern Munich (8-1) – one of the worst ever in its history – by winning the delicate direct clash with Bochum, beaten 2-0 and brought closer in the standings (now the fourth-last place is +6). On the road, however, Mainz continues to disappoint: away from home they have not won in 17 games.
The Prediction
Rose can count on some players in great form such as Dani Olmo, Xavi Simons, Baumgartner and Openda – some of them have also shone in the national team – and will hardly waste such an opportunity, as a success could mean overtaking Borussia Dortmund. We predict a round success for the hosts, with a spread of at least two goals.
Leipzig-Mainz
likely lineups.
LIPSIA (4-4-2): Gulácsi; Henrichs, Orban, Lukeba, Raum; Dani Olmo, Kampl, Schlager, Xavi Simons; Šeško, Openda.
MAINZ (3-4-2-1): Zentner; Hanche-Olsen, van den Berg, Caci; Widmer, Barreiro, Amiri, Mwene; Gruda, Lee; Burkardt.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1
