FSV Mainz 05 vs Bayer Leverkusen Prediction & Betting Tips

Form guide: two teams cut from the same cloth

Leverkusen's last four Bundesliga games read L-W-D-W. They lost 3-2 at Elversberg, then hit back with a 4-0 win over Union Berlin, drew 2-2 at Augsburg, and beat RB Leipzig 2-0 most recently. That's a side that concedes occasionally but keeps scoring.

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FSV Mainz 05 to win

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£52.00

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Draw

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Bayer Leverkusen to win

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FSV Mainz 05: 20 completed matches; Bayer Leverkusen: 20 completed matches.

FSV Mainz 05

20 matches

Win

60% 12 / 20

Draw

15% 3 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

66

Conceded

25

Difference

+41

Bayer Leverkusen

20 matches

Win

65% 13 / 20

Draw

10% 2 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

48

Conceded

20

Difference

+28

Mainz have followed a similar pattern: a goalless draw with Paderborn, a thumping 5-0 win at Hamburger SV, a 1-3 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, then a wild 4-3 win at Gladbach. Both attack and defence have been inconsistent from game to game.

Both teams have shown they can score freely and also concede, which points towards goals rather than a cagey afternoon.

Comparative Team Statistics: FSV Mainz 05 vs Bayer Leverkusen

Head-to-head: honours shared recently

The last few meetings have gone Leverkusen's way, Mainz's way, and to draws in fairly equal measure. February's reverse fixture finished 1-1 at Leverkusen, while Mainz won 4-3 at home the previous October. Before that there was a 2-2 draw and a narrow Leverkusen win.

Further back, Leverkusen won several meetings comfortably, including a heavy 5-1 and a couple of 3-0 wins, but that stretch is now some years old and doesn't tell us much about either squad today.

Recent meetings have rarely been one-sided, and goals have flowed at both ends.

League table: level on points

There's barely a whisker between them. Leverkusen sit fifth with seven points from four games, just one place and zero points above Mainz in sixth. Both have scored ten goals; Leverkusen have conceded five, Mainz six.

On the numbers alone, this looks like a genuine coin flip.

Key men to watch

Patrik Schick has four goals in four appearances for Leverkusen, matched exactly by P. Tietz's four in four for Mainz. S. Becker has chipped in with two goals and three assists for Mainz, while Miguel Gutiérrez has three assists for Leverkusen, so both sides have players creating as well as finishing.

FSV Mainz 05:

Best scorers:

P. Tietz - 4

S. Becker - 2

Best assist providers:

S. Becker - 3

Penalty cards:

P. Mwene x 3

R. Königsdörffer x 1

Bayer Leverkusen:

Best scorers:

P. Schick - 4

Christian Kofane - 2

Best assist providers:

Miguel Gutiérrez - 3

Penalty cards:

I. Maza x 2

On discipline, Mainz's P. Mwene has picked up three yellow cards in four games, which is worth watching given how tight this fixture tends to be.

Both sides carry real goal threat, so this may come down to which defence holds up better on the day.