Form: Woken from their slumber
Having been level on seven points with rock-bottom Schalke 04 after 17 matchdays, 1. FSV Mainz 05 have picked up 28 points in the second half of the season alone – a tally bettered only by four other Bundesliga clubs. An unbeaten run of eight league games – currently the longest in the division – has lifted the Rhineland-Palatinate club into 12th place and six points above the relegation play-off spot, putting them in a better position to retain their top-flight status than at any other point in the season.
Tactics: Clear priorities
Bo Svensson sets his team up in a 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2 system and demands a great deal from his players when out of possession, with a particular emphasis on early pressing and no-nonsense tackling. His Mainz side clock up 113 duels per game on average – the second-most in the Bundesliga – but in doing so they sacrifice control of games, averaging the least possession (42 per cent) and lowest pass completion rate (71 per cent) in the top flight. However, Mainz have also conceded the third-fewest goals (14) in the second half of the campaign.
| 1. FSV Mainz 05 2020/21 |
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| Stats: 9 wins, 8 draws, 14 defeats, 34:50 goal difference, 35 points, 12th in the table |
| Form: D-W-W-W-D |
| Goalscorers: Mateta (7), Quaison (4), Niakhaté (3), Onisiwo (3), Stöger (3), Barreiro (2), Brosinski (2), Burkardt (2), Glatzel (2), Boetius (1), Hack (1), Kohr (1), Mwene (1), Öztunali (1), Szalai (1) |
One to watch: Leandro Barreiro
Leandro Barreiro has become a focal point of Mainz’s midfield under Svensson. The 21-year-old joined the Zerofivers from his native Luxembourg in 2016 and, after representing the club at youth level, soon made the step up to the first team. Barreiro has missed just one game since Svensson’s appointment and has also developed a habit of netting crucial goals, scoring the winners in 3-2 victories over Leipzig and Köln.
