Mainz 05 – Bayern Munich

We anticipate that German champions will both score and concede in 1/8 finals

In the last German Cup, Bayern completed their journey to the 1/16 final. In that game, the champions were so far behind in Mönchengladbach that they left with five conceded goals and no goals scored. This season, the Munich club have climbed further. In the tournament's first round, Nagelsmann's side crushed Club Viktoria Cologne 5-0, and in the second, they gave a masterclass to Augsburg (5-2). Mainz were clearly lucky with their opponents in the first two stages. In both meetings, the team beat Erzgebirge Aue and Lübeck 3-0 away. Bookmakers expectedly identified the reigning German champion as the favourite, offering odds of 1.45 to win. After 18 rounds of the current Bundesliga competition, Mainz have 23 points, which is the eleventh highest score of all the competitors. They are equidistant from the Europa League and Bundesliga 2, so they can risk their preparations for the next round of the championship to get on Bayern's nerves. Mainz have emerged from the Mundial break reasonably well. In the first leg in January, the club drew with Stuttgart (1-1), in the second leg they only missed the draw with Borussia Dortmund (1-2) on 90+3 minutes, and last Sunday they demolished Bochum 5-2 in their native surroundings. As you can see, Mainz score at least one goal against any opponent. After finishing the official part of the 2022 season, bookmakers had no doubt at all that Bayern would clinch a dominant win in the league. Nagelsmann's team produced a streak of ten wins, destroying all their opponents not only in the Bundesliga and German Cup, but also in the Champions League. However, an extended break in club football led to a significant drop in the Munich machine's level of play. The club also suffered a number of injuries: Hernandez, Neuer, Mane, Mazraoui and Goretzka. All this led to three 1-1 draws against Leipzig, Cologne and Eintracht in January. The teams' relationship with each other is very curious. Mainz and Bayern have played five matches in the last two years, with Mainz winning twice and Bayern winning three times. In all encounters, the home team invariably scored three points with the obligatory exchange of goals between the opponents. In the upcoming meeting, we can also expect goals from both teams.