Mainz 2026/27 season preview: Can Urs Fischer continue the 05ers' upwards trajectory in his first full season in charge?
After a sluggish start to their 2025/26 campaign, Mainz will be hoping for a quicker start out the blocks and to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle this time around as they head into the 2026/27 term in what is head coach Urs Fischer's first full season at the 05ers' helm.
Mainz
2025/26 finish: 10th
Pre-season results: 11-0 win vs. Pfeddersheim, 10-0 win vs. Sportfreunden Eisbachtal, 4-1 win vs. Kaiserslautern, 3-0 win vs. Holstein Kiel, 1-0 win vs. Shabab Al Ahli, 3-3 draw vs. Udinese, 4-0 win vs. Paris FC, 2-1 win vs. Bournemouth
First three fixtures: Paderborn (h), Hamburg (a), Eintracht Frankfurt (h)
What to expect?
After the first 16 matchdays of last season, Mainz sat rock bottom of the table having collected just nine points. The skies over the MEWA-Arena were looking bleak, but after an impressive second half of the season under Fischer, who assumed the head coach mantle in December 2025, the 05ers managed to turn their fortunes around to finish in a very respectable 10th place.
With the aim for the upcoming season being to avoid another relegation scare, pre‑season may have provided plenty of reason for optimism. A 2-1 win against English Premier League side Bournemouth in their final warm-up match rounded out an undefeated run into competitive action, before the Carnival Club cruised to a 9-0 victory away at fifth‑tier Krieschow in the first round of the DFB Cup.
Key new signing: Fabio Gruber
Gruber's rise from Germany's lower leagues to the top flight has been rapid. Just one year ago, the centre‑back moved from Verl to Nuremberg and immediately established himself as one of the most exciting young defenders in Bundesliga 2. Now the 23-year-old is stepping up a level again, already impressing in pre-season with his reliability.
See all Mainz's summer comings and goings here
Whilst Gruber performed his defensive duties well for Nuremberg last season - winning 61 percent of his duels - it was his ability to help the team in building out from the back that really caught the attention of potential suitors, and ultimately Mainz, this summer. He completed 84 percent of his passes last term - numbers that make him an ideal fit for Mainz's more controlled playing style under Fischer.
Key player: Nadiem Amiri
Amiri was the undisputed star at Mainz last season, contributing 12 goals and two assists in the Bundesliga alone from midfield. His efforts earned him a call-up for Germany at the FIFA World Cup, where he made an impact off the bench to set up Deniz Undav's equaliser against Ivory Coast.
His performances on the whole over his two-and-a-half years at Mainz have certainly caught the eye, but the midfielder confirmed to fans this summer that he's going nowhere. Now 29 and more often than not the man with the armband on the pitch, an in-form Amiri usually means an in-form Mainz.
Check out Mainz's new jerseys for 2026/27
Talking point
Fischer teams tend to be quite settled in a 3-5-2 formation with one physical and one fast striker. But will it be a settled season for Mainz? Over the past six campaigns, they have managed only one win in the first 10 games on three occasions, sitting 17th and requiring some of the greatest escapes the Bundesliga has seen.
The other three years have been far more comfortable, making solid starts and producing top-half finishes. It's the latter that Fischer, who once guided Union Berlin from Bundesliga 2 into the UEFA Champions League, will want to ensure from his team this time.
>>> Follow Mainz’s Bundesliga opener against Paderborn here!
