1. FSV Mainz 05 vs. VfL Wolfsburg preview: Two teams looking to end inconsistent records | OneFootball

1. FSV MAINZ 05

Mainz (13-7-9, 5th) go into this Easter Saturday match at the MEWA Arena holding a spot in European competition, but are struggling to maintain the form they had earlier in this Bundesliga campaign, having gone winless in their last four matches (0-2-2). This came after a five-match unbeaten run that saw them defeat Heidenheim, St. Pauli, Leipzig, and Mönchengladbach in rapid succession.

With their last win having come on 7. March, Bo Henriksen's side needs to pick up a win to remain in a Champions League spot. The current table shows Mainz at 46 points and Freiburg in the final spot with 45 - a loss means that Mönchengladbach, with 44 points, can jump into one of those places if they defeat a surging Dortmund side, who are closing the gap between themselves and Europe after a disastrous first half of the season.

Henriksen commented on the last few results, saying that “it is unfortunate that we have not won the last four times, but it is crucial that we must bring our performance to the field - we were able to do that in Hoffenheim. When players like Amiri and Burkardt are not available, it is obviously hard for a club like ours, but nevertheless, I saw a team that gave its best and could have scored quite a few times in the second half.”

Regarding their opponents, Henriksen said, “we are facing a team with great players and a high level of quality. Wolfsburg have many players who can cover spaces, and are very strong in finishing; however, we have a good feeling about the home match, and we hope that we can bring a great performance and defeat Wolfsburg.”

When asked how the season will end, the 50-year-old Dane said, “We have five matches remaining, and nothing to lose. We will not be relegated this season, and no matter what position in the table we will play for, it will be a massive success, and we can only win.”

“We want to head into these final five matches with a lot of courage, with belief in ourselves, and fight for something. Lately, the Champions League has been an elephant in the room, maybe that is why we were not completely relaxed - but now, it is all about attacking and enjoying playing football, we are really good if we can do that,” he said.

Team News

Mainz has two players on the injured reserve, these being centre-back Stefan Bell (hamstring) and centre-back Maxim Dal (unknown). Bell has been out since 31. January after having to be brought off in the fifty-sixth minute of their 0-1 defeat to Werder; Dal is listed in the main squad but is an academy talent, having only played 17 matches in Regionalliga Südwest this season.

Left-back Phillipp Mwene and centre-forward Jonathan Burkardt are questionable for this match. Henriksen said about the situation regarding the two that “Burkardt has been training all week, but is not at 100 percent. We need to make the right decision with him - hopefully, he can play. As for Mwene, we are unsure yet; we have to wait a bit longer and see if he if he is good enough to play.”

Attacking midfielder Paul Nebel is also suspended for this match, after picking up a second yellow card right before the final whistle of their 0-2 defeat to Hoffenheim last Saturday.

VFL WOLFSBURG

The visiting team in the 2024/25 Bundesliga season is Wolfsburg (10-8-11, 12th), who have also not won since early March; their most recent victory was 2-1 against Werder, but since then, Die Wölfe has failed to win in their last five matches (0-1-4), with all of the last four being defeats.

Three of those defeats finished 0-1 to Augsburg, Heidenheim, and Union Berlin, and the most recent defeat was 2-3 to Leipzig in what was a disastrous first half but a decent second half effort, nearly forcing a draw in the final minutes.

This also comes at a time when the media reported that the situation at the club was tense; according to Bild, there has been a dispute between coach Ralph Hasenhüttl and forward Kevin Behrens, which originated following the defeat in Berlin; Behrens was then left out of the squad for the match against Leipzig last week. Hasenhüttl immediately criticised Bild, and other sources, in a press conference Thursday.

“That bothers me particularly, if there is somehow an attempt to label one of my players as scandalous and then try to disparage him. The whole story, as I read it, was already quite difficult for me to understand; because he also expressed my opinion, I supposedly attacked him, and that is the reason why he is not in the squad. This bothers me so much more, because I find it disrespectful, both to Behrens and to myself.”

Hasenhüttl also criticised reporters for another story, where he reportedly removed academy coaches from the field during the training sessions of the first team; in the press conference, he said that these were “opportunities for the media to drive a wedge between the professional and academy teams - that bothers me much more than whether any names are being discussed.”

The 57-year-old Austrian then shifted to focusing on football and the current situation of the club on the field throughout the press conference; regarding the recent record, he said, “It would be great if we set a goal of winning once again; we make our lives difficult because we do not attack as much as we did up front.”

However, Wolfsburg have a decent record away, currently 7-2-5 through fourteen matches; Hasenhüttl commented, “We are still the fourth-best team in the league away; as for Mainz, I believe they have been undefeated away for a long time; it will be quite hard for us.” Mainz has been undefeated in their last nine matches at home (6-3-0), with their most recent home defeat in all competitions being on 30. October in the DFB-Pokal to Bayern, and their most recent Bundesliga home defeat being to Leipzig on 19. October.

Regarding his opponent, he said about Bo Henriksen's Mainz that their team brings a “passionate, direct nature, and have defeated many major opponents”. However, he does not feel like Wolfsburg will have a major struggle here, referring to the 4-3 win on 8. December at the Volkswagen Arena against this same team: “We made four goals out of three and a half opportunities; truly, the difference was efficacy.”

Lastly, Jonas Wind will be celebrating 100 matches in a VfL Wolfsburg uniform in this match. Hasenhüttl said about the Danish international that “this would be a good time [for Wind to return to success], the hundredth match - to perform once again and set things right. He works hard already, is an excellent player because he is very tactically disciplined.”

Team News

Injuries are still a major concern for VfL Wolfsburg going into this match. Centre-back Sebastiaan Bornauw (foot), centre-back Mathys Angély (torn muscle fibre), left-back Rogério (fitness), attacking midfielder Lovro Majer (torn muscle fibre), and centre-forward Bartosz Białek (knee) are all on the reserve list. It has been confirmed that Bornauw will not be playing for the rest of the season.

Additionally, Mads Roerslev is not in the squad due to adductor issues that started against Heidenheim; Aster Vranckx is unavailable for personal reasons, and Yannick Gerhardt is out due to a suspension. Matthias Svanberg has returned to training this week following knee issues in recent weeks, but whether he will play, even as a substitute, is still a question; Konstantinos Koulierakis appears to be ready for a full-time return to the squad.