Mainz 05 vs Eintracht Frankfurt - prediction, team news, lineups

By Adepoju Marvellous | 10 Sep 2026 16:31, Last updated: 10 Sep 2026 16:38

Mainz 05 will look to build on their winning momentum as they host Eintracht Frankfurt at the MEWA Arena in round six of the 2026-27 Bundesliga season on Saturday.

The hosts come into this weekend's contest fresh from a resounding victory, while the visitors are still searching for their first league triumph after two matches.

Mainz began the new Bundesliga campaign with a goalless stalemate against newcomers Paderborn, a result that was met with great disgruntlement by the club’s supporters, but they have since responded with a 5-0 hammering of Hamburger.

While not Urs Fischer's biggest win by margin, last week's result was arguably his most impressive since taking charge last December, as he now targets European qualification following a 10th-place finish in his debut campaign.

Mainz are the only Bundesliga side yet to concede this term, showing marked defensive improvement compared to last term, when they managed just four clean sheets (only three teams recorded fewer, two of whom were relegated: Wolfsburg and Heidenheim).

Die Nullfunfer are unbeaten in 12 matches dating back to last season, but now face an opponent they have struggled against, winning just two of the last 13 meetings and conceding in every game during that run.

However, Mainz won the most recent encounter in March, 2-1, courtesy of a Paul Nebel brace, avenging a 1-0 defeat in November 2025 and denying Frankfurt a first-ever league double in this fixture.

Back at the helm for a second spell after replacing Albert Riera, Adi Hutter marked his return with an 11-0 victory in the DFB-Pokal against lower-league opposition in his first official game, but his reintroduction to the Bundesliga has been far from ideal.

Just as in their 3-3 draw with Union Berlin on matchday one, Frankfurt failed to build on an early advantage on Sunday, ultimately falling 4-1 to Augsburg at Deutsche Bank Park despite taking the lead inside six minutes.

Still, Hutter will back himself to turn things around given his top-flight experience. Saturday’s clash marks the 15th meeting between Hutter and Fischer, making it the 56-year-old’s second-most frequent managerial matchup behind Martin Scherb (17 times).

Three of Frankfurt’s four goals this season have come in the opening 15 minutes, highlighting a knack for starting matches on the front foot.

However, Die Adler's weekend opponents have also flown out of the blocks lately, scoring first in nine of their last 10 matches and leading at half time in five of their last six outings.

Eintracht Frankfurt form (all competitions):

Eric Martel and Silvan Widmer are both sidelined with knee injuries and will not feature for Mainz.

Dominik Kohr (foot) and Paul Nebel (muscle) are also absent for the hosts, while Silas Katompa Mvumpa is sidelined with a broken shinbone.

Goalkeeper Robin Zentner missed the defeat to Augsburg with a thigh problem and is a doubt for this weekend.

Nnamdi Collins (back) and Jessic Ngankam (thigh) are yet to feature for Frankfurt this season and remain sidelined.

Fares Chaibi and Malik Pimpong made substitute appearances last time out but are major doubts for the visitors, as is Ansgar Knauff.

Schwolow; Posch, Gruber, Potulski; Caci, Lee, Sano, Amiri, Mwene; Becker, Tietz

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Kosugi, Brassier, Koch, Baum; Uzun, Onyedika, Gotze, Doan; Burkardt, Ebnoutalib

Mainz have looked solid at the back across their three outings this term, but we expect them to be breached this weekend.

Even so, the hosts are well-placed to claim all three points and make it back-to-back league victories.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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