Preview: Eagles travel to Mainz | OneFootball

Eintracht are looking to claim their first league win of the season at 1. FSV Mainz 05. Adi Hütter says his players are still developing, while Mario Götze has called for maximum performance.

Backdrop

Mainz 05 have made a near-perfect start to the 2026/27 campaign. After beating VfB Krieschow 9-0 in the DFB-Pokal, Urs Fischer’s team drew 0-0 against SC Paderborn before a comprehensive 5-0 victory at Hamburger SV last weekend, leaving them fifth in the Bundesliga table after two matchdays. The Eagles, meanwhile, dispatched SC St. Tönis 11-0 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. In the league, the 3-3 Matchday 1 draw at Union Berlin was followed by a 4-1 home defeat to FC Augsburg last Sunday. 

‘I try to focus on the positives’

“In the first half, we showed that we’re capable of outplaying any opponent, but I also saw that conceding a goal or two out of nothing can unsettle us,” head coach Adi Hütter said after the game against Augsburg, adding: “We’re not yet where I’d like us to be. We’re still in a development process but despite everything, I’m a coach who tries to focus on the positives.”

Hütter has admitted he would like to see more physicality from his players, but there has been no shortage of effort from Eintracht so far. The Eagles have averaged 123.6 kilometres per game in the Bundesliga this term – more than any other team in the league. Mainz, as it happens, are bottom of that particular category (112.3 km), but the Zerofivers have excelled in other areas: Fischer’s team have converted all five of their big chances so far, while limiting both Paderborn and Hamburg to only one big chance each. 

‘Push ourselves to the limit’

Regardless of those figures, Mario Götze reiterated the view, both internal and external, that there are no easy games. “We know every match is going to be tough,” he said. “We know that having one point from two games isn’t ideal, but it’s far too early to draw any conclusions. We know how difficult it is. We know we have to work on things as a team in every training session and push ourselves to the limit in every game.” The midfielder added: “We need to work hard and do our jobs properly. We’ve got another opportunity against Mainz on Saturday.”