Mainz Crisis & Bundesliga Preview: Key Insights

Who is playing against whom?

Which game should you definitely not miss?

St. Pauli against Heidenheim. Wait, don’t jump off now! Believe me: there’s a lot going on in the table cellar. The Heidenheimers have shown in the past few weeks that something is still possible. Two wins in a row, a smile from Frank Schmidt – the sky is the limit. St. Pauli recently slowed down the unstoppable fall slightly with a draw.

When it comes to morale and determination, both teams are top. You’re up for fighting! Maybe not as great as Stina Johannes (see below), but well, you really can’t ask for that. After all: They literally fight until the last second. St. Pauli fought for a draw in the 94th minute, and Heidenheim’s winning goals also came in stoppage time. So it’s not that important that they tune in at 3:30 p.m. sharp on Saturday. The main thing is that you stick with it until the last second.

Which game can you safely miss?

Bayern against Mainz. Carnival shows are a rather special treat, but no one really wants to see Mainz sinking and crashing. In last place in the table, the Rheinhessen have nothing to smile about. Their last Bundesliga win was in September, against Augsburg, so it only counts for half. The only thing that was longer ago was Bayern’s last defeat.

Well, Mainz have a new coach. And not just anyone, but Urs Fischer. He became such a legend during his years at Union Berlin that it was impossible to imagine him on any other side of the field for a long time. Apparently not him either, because Mainz is his first coaching position since leaving Berlin two years ago. But even a legend cannot directly perform miracles. It is still about as likely that Mainz will win as a Mainz player greeting with “Alaaf”.

Who is in the spotlight?

Well, there is one reason to watch the game on Sunday: Lennart Karl. There’s no need to explain why to interested ZEIT readers and listeners. You already know that he is the youngest old hand in the league, the Messi from Frammersbach and is currently incredibly hyped. And Julian Nagelsmann knows that too. Since this week at the latest, the whole of football Germany has been wanting to know whether he will take Karl with him to the World Cup.

Lennart Karl, on the other hand, seems wonderfully unaffected by the whole affair. During the week he scored his third Champions League goal in his fourth appearance against Sporting Lisbon. The 17-year-old is no longer just the youngest German Champions League goalscorer, but also the youngest player ever to score in three consecutive Champions League games. Maybe the next record is due against Mainz.