Friday's live Bundesliga clash could turn out to be a cagey encounter.
Mainz v Augsburg - Friday 19:30, BT Sport Europe
Mainz were beaten 4-0 at Hoffenheim meaning they’ve managed just one win in their last eight and are down to 13th, a disappointing return after they finished 6th last term. Augsburg are doing slightly better than last season when they managed 12th as their 3-2 home win over Bremen saw them move up to 10th, two points clear of their hosts.
Mainz have now failed to score in four of their last six but they remain a tough side to beat at home, losing only two of nine there, and one of those defeats was against Bayern. However, three of their four victories were against the current bottom-three and since they’ve managed just two home clean sheets all season and are struggling for goals themselves, particularly since the sale of Yunus Malli last month, we’re looking to take them on at 2.15.
Augsburg have lost only two of their last 10 and just three of their nine road games, with two of those defeats at top-eight sides. They generally keep things tight on their travels as they haven’t conceded more than twice in any of their last 12 away, whilst seven of their last eight on the road were level at the break. Since Mainz have led at the break in only one of their last six at home, we’re going to back Draw/Draw Half-Time/Full-Time at 5.25 in what we expect to be a cagey encounter.
