Bundesliga Live Streaming : Borussia Dortmund look to bounce back from Bayern defeat with win against a resilient Mainz side
Borussia Dortmund are valued as 6/10 favourites by Bet365 to pick up their first league win in three games against Mainz as Bayern look to overwhelm newcomers Eintracht Braunschweig
Last week’s loss against Bayern Munich has seen Borussia Dortmund slip back in the title race but Jurgen Klopp’s side will look to end their week on a high with a win against a strong Mainz side.
Dortmund have fallen down to third in the league after suffering two losses on the go and have fallen seven points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.
The injury crisis continues for Klopp’s side as midfielder Sven Bender joints the injury list after suffering a broken nose in the win against Napoli on Tuesday night.
He joins Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic and Marcel Schmelzer on the injury list which isn’t likely to recede until after the winter break.
Injury problems mean that veteran defender Manuel Friedrich will once again make an appearance for the Champions League runners up since joining the club a couple of weeks ago.
It won’t be easy though for the visiting side as hosts Mainz have been impressive this season climbing to seventh in the standings and have won three of their last four games.
Mainz boss Thomas Tuchel has been boosted by the return of two veterans as Zdenek Pospech and Christian Wetklo return to the line-up after missing out last week through injury.
The hosts will also be hoping that Japanese striker Shinji Okazaki will repeat some of his latest form that seen him score four goals in the last three games.
Elsewhere in the league, league leaders Bayern Munich are expected to pick up a comfortable victory against newly promoted Eintracht Braunschweig at the Allianz Arena.
The league leaders have yet to beaten in the Bundesliga this season and the reigning champions have a four point lead over second placed Bayer Leverkusen.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been hit with yet another defensive injury though as Phillip Lahm is out with a hamstring injury joining fellow defenders Diego Contento and Holger Badstuber in the grandstands.
There are also doubts surrounding the fitness of attacking duo Franck Ribery and Mario Mandzukic after both players missed the win against CSKA Moscow on Wednesday night.
Bottom side Braunschweig have struggled to acclimatise with life in the Bundesliga and the relegation candidates are currently three points from safety with the season almost at the halfway stage.
The visitors will definitely be without Dennis Kruppke and Ken Reichel who are out with calf and knee problems respectively whilst Jan Hochsheidt is a doubt as he continues to recover from a muscle problem.
With Bayern looking likely to extend their unbeaten run, Borussia Dortmund know that they need to get a win at Mainz to prevent themselves from falling further behind in the title race.
