Borussia Dortmund vs Mainz 05

These are uncertain times for out-of-sorts Borussia Dortmund as they entertain Mainz 05 in a must-win midweek Bundesliga clash at Signal Iduna Park.

Borussia Dortmund’s epic downfall after a 1-0 win against Werder Bremen in late October took them to the top of the Bundesliga table has thrown Edin Terzic’s managerial future at Signal Iduna Park into doubt. An uneventful 1-1 draw at Augsburg over the weekend condemned ‘Die Borussen’ to a sixth winless league game in seven (D3, L3), demoting them to fifth in the standings, five points below fourth-placed Stuttgart. With the pressure mounting on Terzic, the impending home return comes at an opportune moment for Dortmund, even though they’ve lost twice in their last three home league outings (W1) after going unbeaten in such fixtures for over a year beforehand. Mainz’s visit to North-Rhine Westphalia doesn’t necessarily bode well, considering the hosts have only emerged victorious once in their last four top-flight H2Hs on home turf (D2, L1).

But as the last two Bundesliga meetings between Dortmund and Mainz have featured over 3.5 goals and both teams scoring, connoisseurs of action-packed football will look forward to this fixture. In contrast to this high-scoring backdrop, goals have been at a premium in Mainz’s recent away league games, as two of their last three have yielded an identical 0-0 scoreline (D3). With the visitors picking up just one win in the opening 15 Bundesliga matchdays (D6, L8), a one-point deficit on safety at the start of this midweek round looks like a blessing. Yet it’s the one they’ve hardly deserved as they lament the division’s second-worst attack with just 12 goals. It’s not like they excelled at the back either, conceding 1.8 goals per match thus far.