FC Köln v Mainz 05 Betting Tips: Striker to help hosts to final day victory

After a decent campaign, Köln may well miss out on a place in Europe next season as they’re outside of the top six by two points with just one game to go. However, a final day fixture (at home) against a struggling Mainz side represents an excellent chance to sign off with a win and, who knows, maybe even sneak into Europe as result if either Hertha or Freiburg slip up, which certainly isn’t unthinkable, especially since the latter face a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena.

Having won last time out, Mainz have given themselves a fighting chance of staying up, although the possibility of a play-off with the 3rd placed side in 2. Bundesliga is still very much alive, particularly since this is no easy fixture. Köln have thrived at home this season and, as they’re fighting for Europe, are likely to be right at it.

The home side have certainly enjoyed their time at the RheinEnergieStadion this season, but one player in particular has seemingly relished his outings in front of a home crowd. Striker Anthony Modeste has been one of the standout players for Köln this season and has continually proved his worth by getting on the score-sheet time and time again, especially at home. Going into the final weekend, the Frenchman has no less than 25 league goals to his name, 17 of which have come at the RheinEnergieStadion. Combining a Modeste goal with a home victory, in the form of ‘Anthony Modeste to Score & Köln to Win’, is very much the bet to go for ahead of this fixture.

Outside of the current top three, maybe four, if there was one team that Mainz didn’t want to face away from home in their time of need it was probably Köln. The fellow Rhineland club have lost just twice on their own patch this season and have certainly be hard to beat. On top of this, Peter Stöger’s men have looked good going forward, scoring 27 goals and failing to score on just two occasions. With the pacey Leonardo Bittencourt out wide and the aforementioned goal-machine Modeste up top, Köln really ought to be capable of damaging a Mainz back-line that has performed poorly this season.

Away form, having won just three times in 16 attempts, has definitely been the main reason behind Mainz’s demise this season. Martin Schmidt’s men have actually performed OK at home, but on their travels they’ve let themselves down far too many times. With just 14 away goals to their name, Die Nullfünfer have failed to offer enough of an attacking threat, while their defence has continually conceded, letting in a total of 27 goals on the road.

If Mainz are to avoid a play-off to stay in the division, it is likely to be because of other results on the final day as opposed to them getting anything from this fixture. With the possibility of Freiburg failing to beat Bayern fairly high, Köln will be keen to secure all three points here and are fancied to do just that. In addition, by getting himself on the score-sheet, Modeste is fancied to add to his already impressive tally and finish the season exactly how he started it.

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