Mainz 05 v Werder Bremen Betting Tips: Schmidt’s men to kick visitors’ while they’re down

Mainz managed to get things back on track last Friday night as they overcame Augsburg in front of a home crowd and, as they welcome the defensively shaky Werder Bremen to the Opel Arena on Saturday, it appears as though they’ve got a great chance of retaining that all-important winning feeling.

Inconsistency has been a bit of a problem for the hosts this season, but they come into this one having not lost in their last four at home, winning two of those. Compare this with Bremen’s dismal record on the road and it’s pretty hard to fancy anything other than a home win here.

Backing the home side to both win and score at least two goals are two bets that are well worth placing ahead of this fixture.

It’s very much been a case of “home is where the heart is” for Mainz this season with the hosts losing just two of their ten Bundesliga fixtures at the Opel Arena. They’ve won five of their other eight, scoring 21 goals in the process. Die Nullfünfer may not be the securest side at the back having conceded 15 goals at home, but they’re certainly a force to be reckoned with going forward. Having scored 21 goals in 12 home matches, only league leaders Bayern Munich have scored more at home this season.

Martin Schmidt definitely impresses an attacking style on his team and, considering the goals they’re scoring, it certainly appears to be working. There was initially a cause for concern during the recent transfer window as the hosts sold one of their star forwards (Yunus Mallı) to Wolfsburg, but in Spaniard Bojan Krkić they’ve acquired a more than ample replacement.

Considering Mainz have netted at least twice in seven of their ten home matches this season – alongside the fact that Werder Bremen have conceded two or more goals in seven of their nine away matches – it’s certainly not hard to see the Schmidt’s side going well here.

As you’d expect with a team languishing in the drop-zone, Werder Bremen have really struggled from a defensive point of view this season. The visitors have conceded no less than 42 goals (more than any other Bundesliga team) and have kept just one clean sheet during the entire campaign. On top this, as touched on above, Alexander Nouri’s men have conceded at least twice in seven of nine away matches and in 15 of their 20 league fixtures overall.

Quite simply, Mainz have looked a very useful outfit on their own patch, especially going forward, whereas Bremen have looked anything but on the road.

Having recorded a pleasing victory last time out, the hosts have an excellent opportunity to follow up here and are expected to oblige against a team who seemingly cannot avoid conceding goals.

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