It’s been a tale of two very different seasons for these sides, with Mainz flying high under Bo Henriksen, while Dortmund continue to struggle for form under new boss Niko Kovač.
Mainz currently sit in third place, 10 points above the Black Yellows in 11th. The 05ers boast the second-best defence in the league too, having conceded just 28 goals so far, only four more than league leaders Bayern Munich. While these figures are impressive in their own right, they’re even more outstanding when compared to Mainz’s tally of 19 points at this same stage last season, when they’d conceded 46 goals – exactly double their current record!
They haven’t just improved at the back either, as they’ve also doubled the number of goals scored from the same point in the 2023/24 campaign. The 05ers have netted 44 goals this season, with 21 of those coming from Germany internationals Jonathan Burkardt and Nadiem Amiri.
