The mood in Dortmund could hardly have been better this week. The team got a long-awaited victory beating Freiburg 3-0 last Saturday and on Tuesday, Marco Reus signed a contract extension which will keep him at the club until 2019. You could almost think that everything is back on track in Dortmund but looks can be deceiving. A quick glance at the table reveals that BVB are still in the middle of a relegation battle even though the team has moved off the bottom of the table and climbed out of the automatic relegation positions. To truly give themselves some breathing space though, they have to get three points today when they face Mainz (20.30 CET, live on Sky).
Kasper Hjulmand’s team also still fear relegation. Currently sitting in 13th with only three points more than BVB, their safety is by no means guaranteed. A defeat against a direct opponent could cause them to drop further down the table. 2015 got off to a promising start for FSV with a 5-0 victory against SC Paderborn but since then they’ve drawn in Hannover and put in a disappointing performance against Hertha BSC losing 2-0 at home. Mainz’s run of results is not necessarily going to improve quickly, especially considering that they’ll be without first choice goalkeeper Loris Karius after he was given a straight red against Hertha.
The match against Mainz seems to come at just the right time for Dortmund. “We have to prove against Mainz that we’re capable of winning two games in a row,” said Roman Weidenfeller after the win in Freiburg. Mats Hummels post-match analysis was suitably cautious: “A win is good but it’s not everything. We now have to get another three points.”
Jonas Hofmann returns
Dortmund have only lost three times in seventeen matches against Mainz. The last defeat was earlier in the season on matchday four when Mainz won 2-0 at home thanks to a goal from Shinji Okazaki and an own goal from Matthias Ginter. If Mainz remember their performance from that game and play with a real must-win attitude, they could take all three points again against a resurgent Dortmund.
It’s a special game this Friday for Jonas Hoffmann. The Mainz player is available to play again against his parent club after recovering from a knee injury he picked up back in October. “I’m hugely looking forward to the game. I know a lot of people there and it’s an amazing place to play,” said the 22-year-old. However it’s clear that he’s focused on doing a job for Mainz: “If I get a chance then I’ll score. That’s just natural.”
The mood in Dortmund could hardly have been better this week. The team got a long-awaited victory beating Freiburg 3-0 last Saturday and on Tuesday, Marco Reus signed a contract extension which will keep him at the club until 2019. You could almost think that everything is back on track in Dortmund but looks can be deceiving. A quick glance at the table reveals that BVB are still in the middle of a relegation battle even though the team has moved off the bottom of the table and climbed out of the automatic relegation positions. To truly give themselves some breathing space though, they have to get three points today when they face Mainz (20.30 CET, live on Sky).
Kasper Hjulmand’s team also still fear relegation. Currently sitting in 13th with only three points more than BVB, their safety is by no means guaranteed. A defeat against a direct opponent could cause them to drop further down the table. 2015 got off to a promising start for FSV with a 5-0 victory against SC Paderborn but since then they’ve drawn in Hannover and put in a disappointing performance against Hertha BSC losing 2-0 at home. Mainz’s run of results is not necessarily going to improve quickly, especially considering that they’ll be without first choice goalkeeper Loris Karius after he was given a straight red against Hertha.
The match against Mainz seems to come at just the right time for Dortmund. “We have to prove against Mainz that we’re capable of winning two games in a row,” said Roman Weidenfeller after the win in Freiburg. Mats Hummels post-match analysis was suitably cautious: “A win is good but it’s not everything. We now have to get another three points.”
Jonas Hofmann returns
Dortmund have only lost three times in seventeen matches against Mainz. The last defeat was earlier in the season on matchday four when Mainz won 2-0 at home thanks to a goal from Shinji Okazaki and an own goal from Matthias Ginter. If Mainz remember their performance from that game and play with a real must-win attitude, they could take all three points again against a resurgent Dortmund.
It’s a special game this Friday for Jonas Hoffmann. The Mainz player is available to play again against his parent club after recovering from a knee injury he picked up back in October. “I’m hugely looking forward to the game. I know a lot of people there and it’s an amazing place to play,” said the 22-year-old. However it’s clear that he’s focused on doing a job for Mainz: “If I get a chance then I’ll score. That’s just natural.”
