Hoffenheim vs Mainz prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2022-09-09 13:30.
Hoffenheim were brave in defeat to Dortmund last time out, but coach André Breitenreiter criticised his men all the same, describing them as “too passive”. Yet, with three home games in the space of a month, the hosts know they have a great opportunity to recover well in the short term, as they look to post a sixth top-half finish in seven seasons.
Given Hoffenheim’s perfect home record to date (W2), they clearly value the atmosphere generated here in Kraichgau, where they’ve won 60% of the time as favourites in Bundesliga action since the start of 2021/22 (W9, D3, L3). However, Mainz seem like the ideal team to defy that trend, with the last three H2Hs at the PreZero Arena going the visitors’ way.
Mainz look more than capable of keeping that streak going, having made a strong start to this Bundesliga campaign (W3, D1, L1) to occupy the top five after the last round. That represents a better five-game start than they made in 2015/16, en-route to their most recent top-six finish, surely giving them the confidence needed to rack up a fifth straight Bundesliga away win.
While the 05ers enter round six as the top-half’s lowest scorers, they have picked their moments to pounce well when travelling. A 1-0 victory at Gladbach last time out marked their first Bundesliga shutout on hostile turf since last season’s H2H here, and while they conceded equalisers in the three away league wins prior, deciding goals beyond the 75th minute each time showed their fighting spirit.
Players to watch: Christoph Baumgartner has scored inside the opening quarter-hour in two of Hoffenheim’s last three wins. As for Mainz, Jonathan Burkardt opened the scoring in their win here last term, while four of his last five goals have arrived inside the first 20 minutes of play.
Hot stat: Four of Mainz’s last five away wins against Hoffenheim have seen them lead at the interval.