BVB heading into crucial stage: three players in and three out for Mainz match | OneFootball

The scenario “We now have five important matches in two weeks,” says Niko Kovac, looking ahead to the play-off matches against Atalanta in the Champions League and the Bundesliga matches against Mainz, Leipzig and Bayern. Friday's match against FSV marks the start of a busy period for the Black & Yellows, who are second in the table on 48 points and are unbeaten in the Bundesliga since October 2025. The BVB head coach says that makes victory on Friday evening even more important: “Mainz is the most important game for me because a win will help us to prepare for the upcoming games.”

Personnel matters Niko Kovac had to do without five players against VfL Wolfsburg as Karim Adeyemi, Emre Can, Marcel Sabitzer and Filippo Mane were out with injuries, while Yan Couto was ill. There is good news about three of those five players ahead of the match against Mainz. Yan Couto trained individually on Wednesday but could return to the squad on Friday. “He is on the mend. I hope he will be available,” explains Kovac. Things are looking even better for Marcel Sabitzer as the midfielder took part in elements of team training on Tuesday and Wednesday, so Kovac expects Sabitzer to be back against Mainz. The same applies to Karim Adeyemi: “He is ready to play.”

But Borussia will definitely be without three defenders on Friday as Emre Can and Filippo Mane are still out with injuries, while Nico Schlotterbeck is suspended for the upcoming matchday after picking up his fifth yellow card in the game against Wolfsburg. Nevertheless, Kovac believes the squad is well prepared: “I am convinced that we have enough quality to win the game.”

The opponent Last December, Mainz brought back Urs Fischer, the coach who led Union Berlin to the German top flight in 2019 and even to Champions League qualification in 2023. Under their new coach, FSV are the second best team in the league since the winter break, with BVB leading the pack ahead of TSG Hoffenheim and FC Bayern. “I'm delighted that he's back in the Bundesliga. He did a great job in Berlin,” says Niko Kovac about Fischer. “You can see that he's now demonstrating those qualities at Mainz too.” Ultimately, however, Mainz are still in a relegation battle, sitting one point above the relegation play-off spot and three points behind 15th on 12 points. According to Kovac, that is precisely what makes the opponents so dangerous: “Mainz are fighting for survival. They put in good performances in Munich and Leipzig. This is not a walkover, this is a very well-prepared team,“ says Kovac, whose primary concern is the visitors' counter-attacks, often with deep balls played in behind the defensive line.

Beier double and Silva debut   Niko Kovac has faced FSV Mainz 05 twice as BVB coach so far, and both times the Black & Yellows came out on top. In March 2025, Maximilian Beier scored his first and only brace for BVB in a 3-1 home win, and Nico Schlotterbeck took corner kicks for the first time in his Bundesliga career – two of which led to the goals that made it 2-0 and 3-0. In September 2025, Fabio Silva made his Bundesliga debut against Mainz, with Borussia winning 2-0. Since then, Silva has played 23 more games for BVB, scoring once and setting up six more goals.

Nina Bargel-Neuhaus