Mainz take on the visitors from France Saint-Etienne in the round 1 match of the Europa League group stage. The game will be played at Opel Arena on Thursday, September 15.
Mainz have finished on high sixth place in the Bundesliga last season and gained the direct ticket to the Europa League group stage. However, the start of the season is quite slow for the team as they allowed nine goals in three matches they played this season. The hosts of the match needed penalty shootout to beat Unterhaching after 3-3 draw, lost the opening match in Bundesliga to Borussia Dortmund, 1-2, and drew the most recent match with Hoffenheim, 4-4, allowing the opponents came back from 1-4 after the first half, so Mainz haven’t won a single match in 90 minutes. The team show nice football upfront but their defensive actions need to be improved.
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Saint-Etienne had to battle through Europa League qualifying rounds and they didn’t look confident in matches with mediocre sides. The French team knocked out AEK, 1-0, 0-0, and Beitar, 2-1, 0-0. Three most recent matches of Saint-Etienne ended with draws, 0-0 with Beitar and Toulouse and 1-1 with PSG. The visiting side show solid defensive football but they offense rarely produce over 1 goal in a game.
The opponents show opposite styles of football and it would be interesting to see who’s approach will take over during these 90 minutes. However, we should expect to see at least two scored goals as Mainz defensive line will definitely allow the visitors to create several chances.
Prediction for the match: Over 2.0 goals.
