Mainz-Borussia Dortmund is a Bundesliga match on matchday 17 and is played on Wednesday at 18:30: line-ups, predictions, TV and streaming.
Borussia Dortmund had gone ‘on holiday’ last November, sulking after back-to-back defeats to Wolfsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach had helped push them further away from the top of the table.
Edin Terzic’s side were left with no other option but to win their 2023 opener against Augsburg, but they had to work hard to get the better of the Bavarians, who were beaten 4-3 in Westphalia after a pyrotechnic match. It was decided by American youngster Reyna, after Maassen’s men had managed to find the momentary 3-3 goal ten minutes from the end. Dortmund made progress in the ball possession phase but continued to dance at the back: Borussia have conceded a total of nine goals in their last three official matches. Bellingham, meanwhile, was confirmed as an absolute driving force – the Englishman netted a goal and an assist – but it was the game that saw the return of Ivorian striker Haller, out in the first half of the season as he battles testicular cancer.
Terzic in Mainz without Bellingham
The midweek trip to Mainz will undoubtedly be weighed down by the absence of Bellingham, who has been disqualified for a yellow card, while captain Reus is likely to be present.
Widmer from Mainz
Borussia Dortmund’s five defeats away from the Signal Iduna Park are now over, but in Mainz the Gialloneri will be unable to make any missteps if they want to get closer to the Champions League zone. Bo Svensson’s team cannot reach the peaks of last year, when they came close to qualifying for Europe. Mainz are having a quiet championship, without running the risk of being sucked into the relegation zone, even though their last success dates back to last October. They drew 1-1 with Stuttgart on Saturday.
The Prediction
Mainz are not the team that surprised everyone last year, but they can still set traps for a convalescent Borussia Dortmund. Terzic’s yellow-and-whites are slight favourites anyway in a match where goals should be in abundance.
Mainz v Borussia Dortmund likely line-up
- MAINZ (3-4-1-2): Dahmen; Fernandes, Hack, Caci; Widmer, Barreiro, Stach, Martin; Lee; Onisiwo, Ingvartsen.
- BORUSSIA DORTMUND (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro; Dahoud, Özcan; Adeyemi, Brandt, Malen; Moukoko.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
