FC Bayern has already suffered annoying defeats in the Champions League and the DFB Cup this season, but is still unbeaten in the Bundesliga. FSV Mainz 05 is the clear underdog on Saturday afternoon, but still wants to inflict Munich's first defeat. At least coach Bo Henriksen is not lacking in self-confidence. “My team is 100 percent mentally ready for the big game. We're looking forward to being in good shape,” he said optimistically during the PK on Friday.
The Mainz team clearly lost 4-0 in their last cup encounter on October 30th. But Henriksen doesn't want to hang too heavily on the disappointing result back then. In the comparison between the cup match and today, he sees “two different teams”. It is clear that two key players, Jonathan Burkardt and Jae-sung Lee, are back and the defense has stabilized.
Consequently, the 05ers were able to collect ten points from the last five league games. The score was zero three times, which had previously only happened once in eight games. Henriksen is also relying on this ability on Saturday. “We know that Bayern are the best team in the league. But we are playing eleven against eleven and I know that we have a chance to win this game, 1-0,” he said in a combative manner.
According to Henriksen, it is essential not to concede an early goal, to “defend very well”, but also to be “courageous with the ball”. “If you only defend against Bayern, you will die a slow death,” he described in a dramatic way. As Mainz coach, Henriksen has clearly lost both players 1:8 and 0:4. Despite this horror story, he wants to make it clear that damage limitation alone cannot be the goal.
After all, it should also be said that Mainz have often been successful at home against Bayern in recent years. Mainz had home wins against the German record champions in both the 2020/21 season and the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.
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