Mainz facing relegation battle

Achim Beierlorzer had only just been appointed as head coach by the time 1. FSV Mainz 05 visited TSG Hoffenheim on 24 November last year. It was his first match in charge of the "Zerofivers" – and he got off to an ideal start as his new side ran out 5-1 winners and moved out of the drop zone. A painful memory for TSG supporters.

But their development has since stagnated. Mainz have been in 15th place – one point ahead of the relegation play-off place – for six months now. The men from Rhine-Hesse are in a relegation dogfight with six matches to go.

They could have picked up some valuable points away to Union Berlin in midweek. But despite being a man up for around 50 minutes – Robert Andrich was sent off for the hosts – they were still held to a 1-1 draw. "It feels like we've dropped two points. We didn't make enough of the man advantage, we were too slow in possession," said centre-back Alexander Hack after the game.

The stalemate in the capital threw one of Mainz's weaknesses into sharp relief: their inconsistency. Good performances are frequently followed up by poor spells – sometimes even within individual games. "We have one of the youngest teams in the league. Fluctuations in performance are quite normal. We need to work on that as a team," said sporting director Rouven Schröder of the current issues.

Achim Beierlorzer's charges will be hoping to show their better side on Saturday. "We must bring all our passion and the right mentality to the pitch," said the tactician. However, the 52-year-old is not expecting a similar result to the thrashing before Christmas. "The reverse fixture was a curious game. There were some areas that we did really well in. We played as a team on the pitch. However, it will be an entirely different game tomorrow." TSG will certainly be hoping for a better outcome.

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