Borussia Dortmund v Mainz: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream & TV Info

On Friday, Borussia Dortmund welcome Mainz to the Westfalenstadion in what many fans will hope to be their first consecutive win in the Bundesliga since September 13 last year. 

Jurgen Klopp's side will be in a fantastically buoyant mood following the 3-0 win against Freiburg at the weekend that saw the club move out of the relegation zone. Though further news of Marco Reus' signing a new contract at the club until 2019 totally eclipsed any sense of doom or crisis that has burdened the club this season. 

Their opponent on the night will be a Mainz side who, under coach Kasper Hjulmand, have gone from maintaining an unbeaten run over the course of the first eight games of the season to only winning one game in their last 12 Bundesliga outings. 

The Carnival club remain a hard team to beat—granted they've managed to grab at least a point in six of those last 12 games—but with each disappointing result, their position in the league continues to fall.

Hjulmand's side may not be under the same pressure as Dortmund at the moment, but they could sure use a win to revitalise their season. 

Date: Friday, February 13

Time: 7:30 p.m. GMT/12:30 a.m. ET

Venue: Westfalenstadion, Dortmund

TV Info: Not available (U.K. only)/Gol TV (U.S. only)

Live Stream: ESPN (Via BT Sport website) (U.K. only)/ Gol TV (U.S. only)

Form Guide 

Dortmund	Mainz
Wolfsburg: draw	Cologne: draw
Werder Bremen: loss	Bayern Munich: loss
Bayer Leverkusen: draw	Paderborn: win
Augsburg: loss	Paderborn: win
Freiburg: win	Hertha Berlin: loss

Predicted line-up

BR

Dortmund will undoubtedly be confident going into this match with Mainz, however, Klopp will be scratching his head over just how he'll be able to pull together a first-team defence. 

Left-back Erik Durm is still out with an illness, joining Kevin Grosskreutz and Jakub Blaszczykowski on the sidelines alongside Sebastian Kehl and Sven Bender, who have yet to return to training from their own respective injuries. 

This will likely lead to a similar back line to the one we saw against Freiburg with Marcel Schmelzer on the left, Lukasz Piszczek on the right and Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic in the middle as the two central defenders. 

Klopp should also stand by the midfield and attacking options that did so well against Freiburg. That would see Reus, Kevin Kampl and Shinji Kagawa play in front of Nuri Sahin and Ilkay Gundogan, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang keeps his spot up front. 

For Mainz we're likely to see Hjulmand stand by his recent selections and play Daniel Brosinski, Stefan Bell, Gonzalo Jara and Pierre Bengtsson along the flat back four with Julian Baumgartlinger and Johannes Geis in the central midfield roles. 

Up front we'll see the Carnival club stick by goalscorer Shinji Okazaki as the lone striker, while Pablo De Blasis, Yunus Malli and Christian Clemens play as the attacking three behind him. 

Michael Probst/Associated Press

Players to watch

Mainz may be floating around the mid-table of the Bundesliga and even risk getting sucked into relegation battle, but in Okazaki the club have a player who has constantly stood out as a match-winner all season. 

The 28-year-old striker has 10 goals and three assists in 21 appearances this season, according to Transfermarkt, and will undoubtedly be the biggest threat to Dortmund on the night. 

In Dortmund's corner we can really look at a number of exceptional players and pick either of them, but one interesting choice is Kagawa, should he keep his spot in the No. 10 role. 

The Japanese international was thrown into the side against Freiburg at the weekend and looked like his old self, pulling passes and creating goals as if he'd never left for a horrendous trip to Manchester. Should he start, Kagawa may well be the magic touch to Dortmund's attack.

Key Battles

Shinji Okazaki v Mats Hummels

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

As already alluded, to Mainz will have every hope that Okazaki can pull something out of the bag on Friday night when he comes up against the very best in Dortmund's defence. A figure that will undoubtedly be centre-back and team captain, Hummels. 

The Japanese international will fondly remember his goal against Klopp's side earlier in the season, but that was a Dortmund team that desperately missed its captain that day. Hummels is back, and he'll have a score to settle with his Mainz forward. 

Marco Reus v Stefan Bell

Now that the new contract is settled, Reus will undoubtedly fly into Friday's game feeling as right as rain. Playing in his traditional role as the left winger in Dortmund's attack, the German international will hope to cut inside and unleash havoc on the Mainz defence. 

Yet standing in his way will be Bell, Mainz's trusted central defender and undoubtedly one of the club's brightest performers this season. It'll be Dortmund's best offence against Mainz's best defence to decide who wins this game on Friday.

Odds (Via Odds Shark)

Dortmund: 1-3

Draw: 4-1

Mainz: 7-1

@Sbienkowski