Mainz vs Schalke prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2023-05-04 18:30.
Mainz’s solid run of ten Bundesliga games without defeat (W6, D4) was ended emphatically last time out with a 3-0 loss at Wolfsburg. That was also the first time they’d failed to score at least once since they suffered a 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture against Schalke back in November. But now with a three-point gap from sixth place coming into the round, they’ll see this as a must-win game if they want to keep their European hopes alive.
Back in familiar surroundings, the hosts will no doubt take comfort from the fact they are unbeaten in six Bundesliga games in front of their own fans (W4, D2), most impressively beating Bayern Munich 3-1 during that run. Yet while they are favourites to extend that streak here, it is worth noting that Mainz have only managed three wins from 12 home H2Hs since their promotion in 2008/09 (D4, L5).
Relegation-threatened Schalke secured what could prove to be a crucial 2-1 comeback win against Werder Bremen last matchday, handing them consecutive home wins for the first time this season. They will now look to follow that up with successive league wins across all venues, which is something they’ve achieved only once so far this season. A good omen for a repeat, though, might be that in that first instance, they secured a 2-1 home win before a success on the road at Bochum who, like Mainz, lost 3-0 in the game prior.
However that was the only away league win for the visitors this season (D5, L8), and four of the six away games in which they collected points were against opponents who were in the bottom half of the table at that time (W1, D3). That’s not a good sign for this Schalke side who, despite improving recent results, come into the round in 17th, albeit now just one point from safety.
Players to watch: Against Bayern, Mainz’s Ludovic Ajorque scored the equaliser to net his sixth goal from his last nine games, including four opening efforts for his team. Last weekend Dominick Drexler scored the winner for Schalke in injury-time against Bremen, and his team have now won three of the four league games in which he scored (W3, L1); each time his goal was decisive.
Hot stat: Both teams have scored in just two of the last eight H2Hs, while the last two meetings combined produced just one match goal.