Mainz 05 vs FC Cologne Betting Tips and Predictions

Mainz 05 picked up a valuable point in their 1-1 draw at VfL Wolfsburg last weekend, with midfielder Jairo Samperio scoring the equaliser with his seventh of the season. Martin Schmidt’s Mainz now stand sixth in the Bundesliga, behind fifth-place Borussa M’gladbach on goal difference and only four points behing third-place Hertha BSC. With five matches left in the season, Mainz still have a real chance of UEFA Champions League qualification for the first time in club history, but they must first overcome a resilient FC Cologne.

FC Cologne have been struggling of late, with their only win in their last eight matches (W1 D2 L5) being that against bottom of the table Hannover 96. They come into this match off the back of a 2-0 derby defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen last Sunday, standing 11th in the Bundesliga and only six points clear of the relegation play-off spot.

FC Cologne will be feeling the pressure after four consecutive defeats at home and have seen themselves slip down the table week after week, with only 5 points taken from their last eight matches. Cologne will take no comfort in the fact that they have failed to score against Mainz 05 in their last four meetings (with two 0-0 draws, one 2-0 defeat and one 4-0 defeat). To make matters worse, neither team has been able to record an away win in any of the 11 previous meetings between them. FC Cologne are, however, known as a resilient side for a reason – every one of their last eight Bundesliga away matches had under 2.5 goals, with an unbelievable five 1-1 draws, one 0-0 draw, one 2-0 win and one 1-0 loss. Combining the analysis above with the statistics above, we expect under 2.5 goals with a 1-0 Mainz win at 13/2 to both be top value in this match.

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