RB Leipzig managed to awake from their miniature slumber when thrashing Darmstadt 4-0 last weekend and, as a result, should come into this match with renewed confidence, whereas Mainz, who’re now well and truly involved in a relegation scrap, probably won’t be feeling too upbeat having lost out to Ingolstadt on Sunday.
Over the course of the season, The Red Bulls have become associated with goals; they’re capable of notching plenty and are the division’s third-highest scorers with 47, but are also prone to conceding a few. Either way, goals are often on the cards when Leipzig take to the pitch with their matches rarely lacking in excitement.
Having re-found their scoring touch last time out, Leipzig are fancied to bag a few goals against a Mainz side who’re certainly there for the taking at the moment. ‘Leipzig to Score Over 1.5 Goals’ and ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ are the two angles of attack.
Playing away from home has done little to stunt Leipzig’s hunger for goals and the visitors have scored a very respectable 21 in their 13 away matches so far this season – only Bayern and Dortmund have scored more. With the likes of Timo Werner and Marcel Sabitzer, Wednesday’s visitors are blessed with real pace in the final third; couple this with the guile and skill of exciting midfielders Emil Forsberg and Naby Keïta, and it’s no surprise that Leipzig have thrived from an attacking point of view. They’ve scored at least twice in seven of their 13 away matches this season, and, given Mainz’s poor performances of late, could very easily add another couple to their tally in this fixture.
A few short months ago, even though they weren’t exactly winning week in, week out, Mainz weren’t exactly thought of as a team in trouble but, thanks to a string of poor showings, they’re now down as low as 15th, level on points with Augsburg in 16th and are fighting for survival. There’s no doubt that Martin Schmidt’s men are capable when going forward, but defensively they’ve been too poor, too often. With just three clean sheets at home all season, the hosts have conceded a rather worrying 19 goals on their own patch.
The fact that Mainz conceded twice when playing an Ingolstadt side who’re certainly not famed for their goal-scoring at the weekend doesn’t exactly bode well. Against a Leipzig outfit who like to come on strong, the home side are likely to be in for a rough ride defensively.
The visitors got back in the swing of things when scoring four last time out and are expected to follow up here with further goals; however, with Mainz knowing that they cannot realistically rely on their back-line, they’re expected to offer some sort of resistance going forward. After all, Leipzig, with just three clean sheets on the road, are prone to conceding, while ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ has landed in 62% of their away matches this season.
At the prices, it’s hard to resist getting behind visiting goals here, but with goals all round not at all unlikely, backing ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ makes plenty of sense too.
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