PREVIEW | Mainz 05 vs Borussia Dortmund: Can BVB overcome difficult test? | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season on Saturday afternoon when they make the trip to Mainz, but the MEWE Arena is often a place where die Schwarzgelben have struggled in the past.

Mainz 05 – Bo Henriksen forced into changes

Mainz come into this game after picking up their first win of the season, a 1-4 win at Augsburg with four different scorers: Kaishu Sano, Dominik Kohr, Paul Nebel and Armindo Sieb. Kohr however will be unavailable for the visit of Dortmund after he was sent off for a second bookable offence which will see Stefan Bell return to the lineup.

Bo Henriksen will also be without Anthony Caci, who is sidelined for several weeks with an adductor-related injury, which should see Silvan Widmer step into the starting eleven.

The Dane also confirmed that Sieb would start with Nelson Weiper remaining on the bench. “He [Sieb] did an outstanding job against Augsburg,” Henriksen noted in Thursday’s press conference. “So, of course, he’ll play [against Dortmund] on Saturday.”

Henriksen has plenty of options to keep things interesting, even with their injuries and suspensions. Jae-Sung Lee could well feature at some point after returning to training, with the South Korea international making “a fabulous impression in training.”

Borussia Dortmund – Can BVB pick up their first win at Mainz since 2023

As for Borussia Dortmund, Niko Kovač won his game against Mainz last season with Maximilian Beier and Emre Can putting the Black and Yellows in a 2-0 lead heading into the break before Beier added a second, and Mainz’ Nebel scoring a consolation goal.

But typically die Schwarzgelben have struggled on their visits to Mainz having lost 3-1 and 3-0 on their last two visits to the Rhineland-Palatinate outfit.

There is some good news for Kovač and Dortmund though. Fabio Silva – who is yet to make an appearance for his new club – and Niklas Süle were a part of the squad that travelled from Brackel to Mainz on Friday afternoon, according to Ruhr Nachrichten.

Nico Schlotterbeck will also retain his place in the Borussia Dortmund defence after returning from a five-month injury layoff last weekend with 90 minutes in a 1-0 win against Wolfsburg. However, Aarón Anselmino is sidelined and so expect the same back three that started last weekend: Waldemar Anton, Schlotterbeck and Ramy Bensebaini.

With three successive wins following their Matchday 1 draw against St. Pauli, Borussia Dortmund haven’t necessarily impressed with their football, but they’ve got the job done and Kovač will be hoping to maintain consistency heading into a crucial part of the season prior to the October international break.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder