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Defending champions Bayern Munich take on Mainz 05 in German Bundesliga action on August 31, 2019.
Bayern Munich
F.C. Bayern Munich is the most dominant team in the league right now as they have won the last seven seasons of the German Bundesliga. They are the most successful football club in Germany with a total of 19 national titles and 19 national cup wins. Overall, they have made it to 10 European Cup/UEFA Champions League final, winning half of them. The last of those came when they completed the continental treble in 2013.
Die Roten also has one European Cup Winners Cup title, one UEFA cup, one UFE Super Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup, and two Intercontinental Cup titles. They hold the distinction of being the only German football club to have won the two international titles. Bayern Munich finished the last term as the #3 ranked team in the UEFA Club’s coefficient rankings.
Niko Kovac had a wonderful first season at the Allianz Arena as he helped Bayern win a seventh straight Bundesliga title in 2018/19. But while seven in a row is very impressive, the fact that Borussia Dortmund kept Kovac’s boys waiting until a thrilling final day to clinch the title. It can be recalled that Borussia Dortmund led by 9 points at one stage and that may be proof that the gap between the champs and the rest of the league has narrowed.
The addition of FIFA World Cup winners Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard was a warning that Bayern means business and the team isn’t taking its foot off the gas pedal but instead is keen on stepping on it even harder this season. The champions are 1-1-0 to open the season but after a 3-0 rout of Schalke, they may be just getting started. Bayern is the soccer betting favorite to win this match.
Mainz 05
FSV Mainz was founded in 1905 and spent their early years playing in the South German Football League. After World War II, they joined Oberliga Sudwest but were nothing more than a middle-table club. When the Bundesliga was founded in 1963, they played in the second division for the most of the next forty years. They bounced on and off the top tier until most recently when they have made 10 straight Bundesliga appearances dating back to the 2009/10 season.
The finished 5th in Bundesliga 2 during the 2010/11 season, their best finish in the top tier division, but have not placed higher than 6th since then. They were 12th in the final Bundesliga 1 table last season. FSV Mainz 05 have won the South West Cup three times and were DFB-Pokal semifinalists in 2009.
Jean-Philippe Mateta led Mainz 05 with a total of 14 Bundesliga goals last season. The 22-year old Frenchman joined the squad on June 2018 in the most expensive signing in team history. He was immediately compared to former Mainz 05 strikers Aristide Bance and Adam Szalai and Mateta did not disappoint.
Last season Mainz finished 12th in the final Bundesliga table. They lost 2-3 to Augsburg AET in the DFB Lokal second round. It was a decent season but another mediocre one for this club who can’t seem to get over that edge. However, the likes of Mateta, Gbamin, and Martin are reasons to be hopeful. They’ve got young talent that can be nurtured and they have these three to build their team around.
Who Wins?
Bayern Munich opened their season with a 2-2 draw against Hertha Berlin, coming from behind to force a tie. Then Robert Lewandowski scored a hat trick in their 3-0 win over Schalke. Lewandowski has scored already five goals in two matches this season. With Phillip Coutinho also in the line-up on a loan from Barcelona, the champions are indeed not resting on their laurels.
Mainz 05 has shown some improvement over the past year. Mateta is going to be a star in the future. But this is the present and the present belongs to Bayern Munich. They simply have too much talent and too much class for Mainz. Prediction: Bayern Munich
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