FSV Mainz are one of the historic clubs in German football. The club was founded in 1905 and is recently playing in the Bundesliga. Mainz got promoted in the 2009-10 season, after spending a couple of seasons in the second division. Since then, the team has had a mixed run in the Bundesliga. They finished in the top half of the table and also struggled in the bottom half.
This season is a bit different for the club. Mainz 05 are currently sitting in the relation zone. The team has only collected 26 points from 29 games. In the Bundesliga, the team sitting third from the bottom has a chance to save themselves. Mainz are in a good position and have a four-point lead over the team sitting below them. This became only possible after Mainz secured some wins in recent matches. The current form of the club is leading them towards safety. Here is a look at what Mainz have done in the last couple of weeks to ensure their Bundesliga status.
Goals galore
FSV Mainz are unbeaten in the last five league games and have collected 11 points in total. This run started with a 1-1 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach. A 2-0 win over Bochum was followed by a goalless draw against RB Leipzig. In the last two matches, Mainz have shown domination by scoring four goals each. A 4-0 win over Darmstadt was followed by a 4-1 hammering of Hoffengenheim.
The team averages one goal per match this season. However, in the last four games, the average is just above two goals. By looking at the shot map we can observe that the players have found space to get into the penalty box. They have penetrated the six-yard box on occasions and scored four times.
Most goals came from the right side of Mainz’s attack. Six goals have been created in the last four matches. All these goals came in the form of some smart passes into the dangerous zones.
In their last match, Mainz created 33 positional attacks and more than half of these came down the right flank.
Tight defence
To win any match, your defence has to be in the best shape. This is exactly what Mainz have done in recent matches. The team has only allowed the opposition to score one goal. Before these matches, Mainz allowed the opposition to score at a rate of 1.5 goals per match. The last few games have lowered down the average of goals conceded. The goalkepeer has even made 13 saves to stop the opposition and kept three clean sheets.
FSV Mainz are in a good position to escape relegation and maintain their top-division status. They will aim to keep this good run and come back more stronger next season.
Visuals via Wyscout and the TFA data viz engine