Borussia Dortmund vs Mainz 05 Predictions, Betting Tips, & Match Preview

Thomas Tuchel, who spent five years at Mainz from 2009 to 2014 as head coach, will be hoping to start the season in full force after Dortmund’s disappointing 2-0 defeat against Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup the weekend before last. Dortmund seemed the more dangerous side, not only having the better chances, but far more of them too. Dortmund’s pre-season was also peppered with disappointment but overall they have shown a lot of potential, such as in the 4-1 win against Manchester United in the International Champions Cup, which leads us to believe that they’ll be true title contenders in the Bundesliga this season. Dortmund’s second competitive match of the season was their 3-0 win away to Eintracht Trier in the DFB Pokal (German League Cup) first round and no doubt another run to the latter stages of the cup is on Thomas Tuchel’s agenda. Tuchel’s men met Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal final last season.

Dortmund have a new all-star cast for the 2016/2017 season with plenty of new faces likely to be on show here. Centre back Marc Bartra from Barcelona, 19 year old winger Ousmane Dembele from Stade Rennais, Sebastian Rode from Bayern Munich, Andre Schürrle from Wolfsburg and, last but not least, Mario Götze from Bayern Munich are all in the frame to get Dortmund’s title challenge off on the right foot. Mainz, who qualified for the UEFA Europa League with a 6th placed finish in the Bundesliga last season, felt no need to make too many changers, with coach Martin Schmidt largely trusting his already established squad. Mainz scraped through their DFB Pokal first round match against fourth tier side SpVgg Unterhaching on penalties after drawing 3-3 in regular time.

Though Mainz’s established squad pushed them to their best league finish in years last season, the quality of players on show here heavily favours the hosts. Dortmund are huge favourites for this fixture at 4/11, which is unsurprising given their last defeat at home in the Bundesliga was a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in April 2015. Since then, Dortmund have won all but three matches at the Signal Iduna Park (W18 D3) and have kept clean sheets in approximately 50% of these. Dortmund’s defense has, admittedly, taken a blow with the transfer of captain Mats Hummels to Bayern Munich over the summer, but Tuchel’s new combo of Marc Bartra alongside Sokratis in the centre means their back four is as strong as ever. Mainz are also without some attacking prowess (see team news) coming into this match.

As such, Borussia Dortmund to win to nil at 11/8 and Borussia Dortmund to win 3-0 at 8/1 are our choice bets for this Bundesliga match.