Mainz vs Hoffenheim Betting Tips

Mainz’ have started the season fairly well. They have won two of their four Bundesliga matches so far, and a 2-1 loss away to Schalke on Sunday can’t be considered a particularly unexpected result given the quality of Schalke.

After an opening day defeat to Ingolstadt they took advantage of Borussia Monchengladbach’s poor start to the season by getting an away victory, and followed this up with a 3-0 win over the struggling Hannover.

This puts them in 10^th place in the table, a reasonable position for the side that finished 11^th last term.

Hoffenheim narrowly missed out on continental competition last season after finishing in 8^th place, just two points behind Borussia Dortmund in the last of the Europa League qualification positions.

This will have been a bitter blow after leading the out of form Dortmund side for the majority of the season, and the absence of European football may well have been a contributing factor in Roberto Firmino leaving.

The Brazilian forward was a driving force behind his team’s success last term, with ten league assists and seven goals helping them towards their best finish in the Bundesliga since 2009.

His presence has been missed so far this season. Hoffenheim are without a win so far. They were knocked out of the DFP Pokal at the start of the season by 1860 Munich and have gone on to lose three of their opening four league games. This puts them in 15^th position with a measly tally of one point from a possible 12.

This fixture ended goalless last season, which was their third draw in the last six meetings between the sides. Mainz have won two of the others with Hoffenheim taking the three points at home last season.

Hoffenheim look in disarray at the moment, and their only point came against the newly promoted Darmstadt. I think Mainz will get the victory on Friday, and odds of 5/4 for this outcome look like good value to me.