“Our position is still very uncomfortable”

The wait for a Bundesliga win at home is finally over! After almost a year without celebrating three points at the MEWA ARENA, the 05ers were able to get over the line in a 2-1 win against 1. FC Heidenheim. The team now turns its gaze towards Saturday’s clash with 1. FC Köln (15:30 CET kick-off), where Mainz will be hoping to make it two wins in two and pick up another crucial victory in North Rhine-Westphalia. Urs Fischer’s tenure as head coach has seen the side record four draws and two wins in all competitions, remaining unbeaten since his appointment and sitting on 12 points in the league. Saturday’s opponents, by contrast, are now eight games without victory (five losses, three draws) and have accrued a tally of 17 points. The game also represents the start of the second half of this Bundesliga season – in the opening match of 2025/26, Köln ran out 1-0 winners at the MEWA ARENA. Mainz will be hoping to come out on top in the reverse fixture and pick up important points in the race to avoid relegation.

Urs Fischer on...

...the squad situation: “As well as Andreas Hanche-Olsen, Nikolas Veratschnig will not be available on Saturday, although it wasn’t a serious injury that he picked up against Heidenheim and I’m working off the assumption that he’ll be back with us in the next couple of weeks. Benedict Hollerbach and Nelson Weiper are both still ill. Maxim Leitsch and Phillipp Mwene are both partly involved in team training, although they won’t be able to play any part in Saturday’s game. Robin Zentner and Anthony Caci are both still working through rehab. Silas, on the other hand, has taken part in all our recent training sessions and will be with us as we travel to Köln.”

...new signing Silas: “He’s making a really good impression on me. Every training session helps him to better understand our principles and patterns of play, and I’m glad that he’ll be available on the weekend. He’s incredibly quick and he’s comfortable taking his man on. As a forward, he’s also very aware of where the goal is and is capable of not just scoring himself but setting his teammates up as well, and so he’s got everything to his game that you need as an attacker.”

...the analysis of the game against Heidenheim: “We had a look at the video material from the game yesterday and then discussed together about what we did well – the period after the goal was of course something we focused on as well, and in this respect we’ve got aspects to improve upon as we look ahead to the next few games.”

...the long-awaited victory: “I hope a moment of success like that can give us a bit of a boost. The team was very relieved afterwards, you could see that and the feeling was palpable. Despite that, the day after we went straight back to normality – we can’t let up after this win, although of course it will help us by giving us something to build upon.”

...the upcoming opponent: “I watched Köln’s game against FC Bayern on Wednesday, and I can tell you we’ve got a very difficult away game ahead of us. Especially in the first half they looked really strong and made it a very even game. You can really see the mark of their head coach on the way they play and they’re determined to get on the ball as much as possible. They are really flexible in their structure and with Ache up top they’ve got a proper target man for those long balls – these are all things that we’re preparing for and that we have to be ready to face.”

…an assessment as we head into the second half of the season: “Our current situation is still very uncomfortable. I think that we’ve been able to provide a degree of stability, but we’ve not achieved anything yet. The game against Heidenheim was like a final for us, and we’ve got another one waiting for us in Köln. It’ll be a tight game right up to the final whistle, although the results and the points from our last few games can definitely help us in some way.”