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Hoffenheim host relegation-threatened Mainz in the Bundesliga at the Rhein-Neckar Stadion on Sunday.
The visitors are currently in 17th position, but level on points with Arminia Bielefeld and a point behind Hertha BSC. The Bundesliga relegation battle looks set to go down to the wire.
Last weekend, Mainz got themselves an immense win against Freiburg. Robin Quaison scored the only goal of the game in the 84th minute, as Mainz won 1-0 and earned a crucial three points in their fight for survival.
Mainz have 21 points from 25 games so far this season. However, their goal difference is three fewer than Bielefeld, meaning Bo Svensson's side remain in the relegation zone.
Hoffenheim have recovered from the wretched run they had a couple of months ago. However, that period has put paid to any hope they may have had of qualifying for European competitions next season.
They are currently 11th in the Bundesliga, with 30 points from 25 games. They lost their last game in the league, going down 2-0 to Stuttgart.
A Kasim Nuhu own-goal opened the scoring in that game before Sasa Kalajdzic made sure of the points.
Hoffenheim vs Mainz 05 Head-to-Head
Hoffenheim have won 10 and lost nine of the last 27 games that they have played against Mainz.
Despite going down to 10 men at the end of the first half of the reverse fixture, Mainz won that game 5-1.
Hoffenheim form guide: L-W-D-L-W
Mainz 05 form guide: W-D-L-W-D
Hoffenheim vs Mainz 05 Team News
Hoffenheim
Dennis Geiger, Ermin Bicakcic and Benjamin Hubner have all been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Kostas Stafylidis, Mijat Gacinovic, Stefan Posch, Havard Nordtveit and Kevin Akpoguma are all ruled out of this game as well.
Injured: Kostas Stafylidis, Mijat Gacinovic, Stefan Posch, Havard Nordtveit, Kevin Akpoguma, Dennis Geiger, Ermin Bicakcic, Benjamin Hubner
Suspended: None
Mainz 05
Danny Latza is injured, and will miss this game. Karim Onisiwo is back in training and should be available for selection.
Injured: Danny Latza
Suspended: None
Hoffenheim vs Mainz 05 Predicted XIs
Hoffenheim Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Oliver Baumann; Kasim Nuhu, Florian Grillitsch, Chris Richards; Pavel Kaderabek, Sebastian Rudy, Diadie Samasekkou, Marco John; Christoph Baumgartner; Ihlas Bebou, Andre Kramaric
Mainz 05 Predicted XI (3-5-2): Robin Zentner; Jerry St. Juste, Stefan Bell, Moussa Niakhate; Danny da Costa, Leandro Barreiro, Dominik Kohr, Kevin Stoger, Philipp Mwene; Robin Quaison, Adam Szalai
Hoffenheim vs Mainz 05 Prediction
We are predicting that Mainz will win this game and give themselves a massive boost in their fight for Bundesliga survival.
Hoffenheim are still struggling to find consistency. That can be put down to the ridiculous number of injuries that they have had to deal with.
Prediction: Hoffenheim 1-2 Mainz
