Union Berlin will host Mainz at the An der alten Forsterei on Sunday in another round of the 2024-25 Bundesliga campaign. The home side enjoyed a strong start to their season but have once again lost their way, prompting the dismissal of head coach Bo Svensson and the appointment of former Koln boss Steffen Baumgart.
They were beaten 2-0 by Augsburg in their last match and could have no real complaints about the result after managing just one shot on target in the opposition box throughout the contest. Union have now dropped to 13th in the league standings and will be desperate to turn things around in the second half of the season.
Mainz, meanwhile, are playing well at the moment and are on the hunt for European action. They suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to defending champions Bayer Leverkusen in their game on Tuesday, struggling to pose any significant attacking threat following an early injury to talisman Jonathan Burkardt.
The 05ers now sit sixth in the league standings with 28 points from 17 matches and will be looking to add to that tally come the weekend.
Union have lost their last seven games on the bounce and are without a win in their last 11. They are on a three-game losing streak at the An der alten Forsterei and will be desperate to snap that streak this weekend.
Mainz saw their latest result end a three-game winless run and they will aim to start a new run on Sunday. They are in much better form than their weekend opponents and should edge this encounter.
Prediction: Union Berlin 1-2 Mainz
Tip 1 - Result: Mainz to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Eight of the 05ers' last 10 away matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in six of their last seven matchups)