Our next opponents: Finally turn it round

Position

Mainz 05 are without a win after five games. The Rheinhessen club are bottom of the table with just one point and the worst goal difference (4 to 14) of all the Bundesliga teams. They are level on points with Darmstadt and FC Köln as well as being in touch with Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfL Bochum. Mainz, now without a win in ten games across seasons, obviously imagined a different start to the season. Last weekend, in spite of having an extra man for 30 minutes, they failed to score any more goals against FC Augsburg. The match had started so well from an FSV perspective. Ludovic Ajorque opened the scoring early on with great work from the former Leverkusen player Danny da Costa in the build-up. Augsburg turned the game round later in the first half with a brace from Ermedin Demirovic. After a red card for the FCA player Arne Engels, Mainz were unable to create any decent chances despite having the extra man. "Unfortunately we are unable to get our reward for a good performance for much of the game," said sporting director Martin Schmidt after the 2-1 defeat. Mainz previously suffered defeats against VfB Stuttgart (1-3), Werder Bremen (0-4) and Union Berlin (1-4). A point was gained in a home draw against Eintracht Frankfurt (1-1).

Schmidt is well aware of the seriousness of the situation but remains optimistic. "Perhaps what we now need is a match against a top opponent," said the 56-year-old looking forward to Saturday's game against the Werkself. "It's not a must game but rather a can game. I'm convinced the team will get out of it. The quality is there." The situation is not completely new for the club. "We know this type of challenge at Mainz. And we accept it," declared Schmidt.

Personnel

Mainz, hit by injuries, unveiled a new signing this week in Josuha Guilavogui brought in as a response to the loss of Andreas Hanche-Olsen. The central defender has undergone an operation on an ankle injury and will be sidelined is for four to six months. Guilavogui, the former captain of VfL Wolfsburg, was recently out of contract and was brought in on a free transfer. The 33-year-old has plenty of experience (207 Bundesliga appearances, nine goals). "Josuha is a brilliant guy and absolute leader," said coach Bo Svensson about the transfer. "He is a top addition to our team with his commitment and his leadership mentality, particularly in this difficult phase." Guilavogui, who has previously mainly played as a holding midfielder, is set to play in defence for Mainz. There is a particular need for players at the back. In addition to the absence of Hanche-Olsen in central defence, Maxim Leitsch is ruled out with a medial ligament injury. And summer signing Sepp van den Berg (on loan from Liverpool) and the Austria international Philipp Mwene (knee) are only available to a limited extent if at all. The former Bayer 04 player Dominic Kohr, who normally plays as a holding midfielder, was in central defence against Augsburg. It remains to be seen when captain and right-back Silvan Widmer will be able to return to the squad. The 30-year-old has been able to train with the team again the first time since his Achilles operation in May. "We've had an incredible number of injuries at the back," said Martin Schmidt.

But there are also problems up front. Jonathan Burkhardt is still ruled out with a knee injury, top talent Nelson Weiper had to undergo keyhole surgery on his knee and is also unavailable. Accordingly there have also been changes in terms of personnel in attack. FSV signed the out-of-contract striker Anwar El Ghazi in the middle of September. The 28-year-old former Netherlands international last played for PSV Eindhoven where he won the domestic cup competition. Mainz sporting managing director Christian Heidel says El Ghazi has "loads of international experience." The striker made 73 appearances (15 goals) for Aston Villa and Everton in the Premier League and also played 39 games in Ligue 1 for Lille. El Ghazi made his debut for Mainz against Augsburg when he came off the bench late in the game.

Performers

The successful formula for Mainz is the game against the ball, pressing high and being fast in transition. The fact the Bo Svensson group are again up to scratch physically this season is shown by the following statistic. FSV have made the most challenges of all the Bundesliga teams to date (125). The physical solidity, pressing high up the pitch and winning lots of second balls saw Mainz 05 dominate early on in Augsburg. But the first goal conceded interrupted the flow of their game.

Problems

Uncertainty return to the Mainz team when Augsburg levelled at 1-1. Svensson above all objected to the way the goals were conceded. His comment on the winner for FCA: "The opponents hardly had to do anything to score a goal against us. A long throw where we had all ten outfield players in the box. In spite of that, the opponent is unmarked in front of goal and makes it 2-1. That's a pattern that has repeated itself." The Dane does not want to use the injury crisis as an excuse for the disappointing points return of his team so far. Svensson does not beat around the bush. "At the end of the day, it is a bitter blow to lose here. The opponents score two goals from two chances. From two situations where we defended badly and that were crucial in terms of the result. That is a common theme running through all five games we've played so far. Regardless of who was on the pitch. It's simply not good enough in the Bundesliga to hope that you can win a game like that. If I look at how we conceded the 14 goals then I can least at least half were due to bad defending. For me the problem is more in defence than the fact we haven't created enough goalscoring opportunities."

The lack of defensive stability in the team is also shown by the number of chances for the opposition that the Rheinhessen team concede. Last term it was 3.3 chances per game and this season it almost twice as much with 6.3 goalscoring opportunities for the opposition. And there is a lack of the ability to finish in attack. Mainz 05 have only scored four goals so far this term – no other team has netted fewer goals. Karim Onisiwo, the top scorer for Mainz last season with ten goals alongside Marcus Ingvartsen (now at FC Nordsjaelland), has yet to find the back of the net this term. And the top provider Jae-Sung Lee is not yet on top form.

Prediction

Fluency and self-confidence are lacking for the Red and Whites after a poor start to the season. Nevertheless, there is calm at Mainz. Managing director Christian Heidel, sporting director Martin Schmidt and coach Bo Svensson form a trio that trusts each other. "We have to keep our heads up and we have to get the show back on the road," demanded Schmidt. And centre-forward Ludovic Ajorque is convinced: "We have the opportunity on every matchday to turn things round." That needs to happen as soon as possible if they are not to lose touch. If the newly signed players Guilavogui and El Ghazi quickly strengthen the squad and the injury situation eases for Mainz then FSV will be capable of securing a mid-table finish this season.