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SV Darmstadt 98 is looking to break a streak of three consecutive losses when they face Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga this Saturday.
Mainz 05 recently climbed from the bottom of the league table by securing their first win of the season against RB Leipzig in their last match.
In contrast, Darmstadt slipped down the standings, as they were overtaken by VfL Bochum after a 2-1 defeat at home to Thomas Letsch's team last Friday.
During the match, both teams were level at halftime, with goals from Takuma Asano and Fabian Nurnberger. However, Asano regained the lead for Mainz nine minutes into the second half. Darmstadt made efforts to get back into the game, but their chances were severely impacted when Fabian Holland was red-carded 21 minutes before the end of regular time, and Bochum held their ground.
While SV Darmstadt and their coach, Torsten Lieberknecht, may have initially been content with being outside the relegation zone after 10 games this season, recent performances have not been very promising. They've conceded more goals than any other team in the league, and a large part of that was due to their recent 8-0 loss to the reigning champions, Bayern Munich.
Lieberknecht is eager to keep his team above the bottom three as they head into the international break, and their only chance of doing so is by securing their third win of the season against Mainz on Saturday.
Achieving a similar outcome may prove more challenging after Mainz's surprising victory against Leipzig in the previous weekend, marking Bo Svensson's team's first win of the season after ten attempts. As expected, Leipzig had the lion's share of possession at 68%, but Marco Rose's squad struggled to create scoring opportunities, managing only two attempts on Mainz's goalkeeper, Robin Zentner, throughout the game.
Mainz's solid defensive organization paid off when Lee Jae-sung broke the deadlock in the 76th minute, leading to jubilant celebrations at the MEWA Arena. Four minutes later, Leandro Barreiro extended the hosts' lead, all but confirming the end of their winless streak. In addition, FC Koln's draw against Augsburg allowed Svensson's team to climb from the bottom of the league table.
Mainz will face newly-promoted Darmstadt next, knowing that a second consecutive win would ensure they do not occupy the automatic relegation places during the upcoming international break. If Union Berlin successfully secures their own victory against Leverkusen on Sunday, it is likely they would move out of the bottom three as well.
Darmstadt's Holland, Matej Maglica, and Klaus Gjasula have been suspended due to their dismissals in the match against Bayern, while Braydon Manu, Fabio Torsiello, and Aaron Seydel are unlikely to participate due to injuries. Bartol Franjic may have an opportunity to showcase his abilities in central midfield, a position where club captain Holland had been playing out of position at left-back. However, Lieberknecht has limited options to make significant changes.
On the other hand, Mainz will be without Jonathan Burkardt, Stefan Bell, Joshua Guilavogui, Andreas Hanche-Olsen, and Nelson Weiper due to injuries, and Brajan Gruda and club captain Silvan Widmer may not be risked either. Edmilson Fernandes is expected to fill in for Guilavogui in the center of defense, allowing Danny da Costa to offer natural width at right-back. However, given their impressive win against Leipzig, it would be surprising if Svensson opted to make any other alterations to the lineup.
