
Mainz vs. Borussia Dortmund: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Borussia Dortmund visit Mainz 05 on Bundesliga Matchday 9 on Friday in their first match after the international break.
Mainz sit eighth in the Bundesliga table. With four wins and four losses, their start to the season has been balanced. A goal difference of 12 scored and 11 conceded adds to that impression.
They've struggled against the Bundesliga's big guns, having lost at Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen and at home to Bayern Munich. Before the international break, they won a 3-2 thriller at newly promoted Darmstadt 98.
TOP NEWS

Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲

'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳

Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Friday's game marks new BVB head coach Thomas Tuchel's first return to Mainz since leaving the club at the end of the 2013/14 season. "Tuchel is Mainz's longest-serving Bundesliga coach, having been in the dugout for 170 matches between 2009 and 2014," according to Bundesliga's official site.
Dortmund are coming off their first loss of the season, a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich.
Mainz won last season's meeting at home, 2-0. It was Mainz's only win in the last 10 matchups between the two teams, of which Dortmund have won eight.

Date: Friday, October 16
Time: 7:30 p.m. BST / 2:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. local time
Venue: Coface Arena, Mainz
TV Info: Fox Sports 1 (U.S. only), BT Sport Europe (UK only)
Live Stream: Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S. only)
Form Guide
| Mainz | Dortmund |
| Schalke: Loss | Leverkusen: Win |
| Hoffenheim: Win | Hoffenheim: Draw |
| Leverkusen: Loss | Darmstadt: Draw |
| Munich: Loss | Salonika: Draw |
| Darmstadt: Win | Munich: Loss |
Predicted Lineups
Mainz
Karius; Brosinski, Bungert, Bell, Bengtsson; Baumgartlinger, Latza; Clemens, Malli, De Blasis; Muto.
Summer signing Fabian Frei will be the only regular starter missing. He's been capably replaced by Danny Latza so far. Kicker reported that Chile international Gonzalo Jara only returned from international duty on Thursday, which makes a start for Pierre Bengtsson at left-back likely.
Offensively, there are some questions regarding the starter on the right wing. Christian Clemens would be the more defensive option compared to Jairo Samperio.
Dortmund
Burki; Ginter, Papastathopoulos, Hummels, Park; Weigl; Reus, Gundogan, Kagawa, Mkhitaryan; Aubameyang.

Marcel Schmelzer is likely to miss the game with his strained thigh muscle. His replacement should be Park Joo-ho, who left Mainz for Dortmund this summer. Lukasz Piszczek replaced Schmelzer against Bayern, but he didn't play well. The Pole impressed on international duty, however, and could be preferred to Matthias Ginter at right-back.
Marco Reus started twice for Germany and should return to the starting XI.
Players to Watch

Mainz's Yunus Malli is the Bundesliga's most prolific goalscoring midfielder with 12 goals in 2015. His six this season account for half of all the goals Mainz have produced. The former Germany under-21 international has exploded under the tutelage of Mainz head coach Martin Schmidt.
His close control and elegance on the ball are a sight to behold. He has a hand in almost every attack and will be a handful for Dortmund's defence.
For Borussia, Marco Reus will be under a lot of scrutiny. He's struggling for form, as was evident on international duty. In Germany's 2-1 win over Georgia on Sunday, he could have scored a hat-trick in the first half alone. Reus was left out of Dortmund's side to start the game at Bayern. The 26-year-old needs to start producing if he wants to keep his regular spot in the starting XI.
Key Battle: Dortmund's Right Against Mainz's Left
Mainz have been unsettled at left-back since selling Park to Dortmund late in August. The Korean was in integral part of Mainz's playing style and has yet to be replaced properly. Swede Bengtsson struggled in the losses against Schalke, Leverkusen and Munich and was benched for Jara at Darmstadt.

Argentinian Pablo de Blasis plays on the left wing and doesn't have the physical strength to be of much help defensively. Dortmund need to take advantage of that. Ginter could add to his impressive number of assists, which stands at three in the league this season, per WhoScored.com.
Mainz's left side could, however, cause Dortmund's defence a lot of trouble. De Blasis is a quick and shifty winger who likes to take players on. Ginter's defensive struggles have been evident, and De Blasis is precisely the kind of player he has problems with.
Odds (courtesy of Odds Shark)
Mainz: 851/100
Draw: 4/1
Dortmund: 1/3






