bundesliga

Are Mainz on course to finish in the top four and qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time?

18.03.2025

With eight games of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season remaining, Mainz are third and firmly in contention to secure UEFA Champions League football for the first time in their history. bundesliga.com looks at why they can do just that...

Bo Henriksen’s men took the opportunity of playing on the opening night of Matchday 25 to best Borussia Mönchengladbach and move above Eintracht Frankfurt into third place before Die Adler were beaten by Union Berlin almost 48 hours later. They followed that up by holding top-four rivals Freiburg to a 2-2 draw to stay third on goal difference ahead of the March international break, whilst extending their unbeaten run to six matches (W4, D2).

Mainz have been rejuvenated under Henriksen, who has made an enormous impact since taking over towards the end of the 2023/24 season. The 05ers had 19 points on the board at the same stage last term and were in danger of dropping out of the division. Fast forward 12 months, and they've posted club records at this juncture in a Bundesliga campaign for points (46), goals scored (44) and conceded (28).

Goalkeeper Robin Zentner has been key to his side’s defensive solidity, saving 89 shots - the second-highest tally in the league. After 26 rounds of fixtures, he has saved 76 percent of attempts on his goal (the highest of any goalkeeper with more than 10 appearances) to help him to a league-best keeper efficiency of +8.9. It's no wonder the 30-year-old is being touted for a Germany call-up.

Watch: Robin Zentner's top 5 saves in 2024/25

Nine clean sheets - three of which have come in the last six league games - while only league leaders Bayern Munich have let in fewer goals (24). Mainz have also won the third-most aerial duels (574) in the league, are thurd for intensive runs (19,695) and fifth for sprints (6139), embodying the hard work and "power" that Henriksen emphasised in his opening interview as Mainz boss: “The most important thing for me is power, and that we play attacking football. But obviously if you want to play attacking football you need to have a good defence, you have to stand high”.

Mainz coach Bo Henriksen often shows almost as much energy on the touchlines as his team on the pitch. - IMAGO/Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images

It’s not only defensively where Mainz have grown under the Dane, as they have also become more prolific going forward. The 05ers have scored an average of 1.7 goals per game and boast a 1.7 points-per-game average, making Henriksen statistically their best Bundesliga coach ever, surpassing the likes of Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.

Talisman and top scorer Jonathan Burkardt has led their attacking charge, already scoring a career-best 15 goals in one season, contributing to him becoming the club’s all-time top scorer in the Bundesliga with 38 goals. He's also the joint-best German marksman in the current campaign, alongside Borussia Mönchengladbach's Tim Kleindienst.

Watch: Jonathan Burkardt - Mainz's main man

Burkardt isn’t the only Mainz player hitting new heights either. Nadiem Amiri has a personal best six league goals with Paul Nebel also striking a career-best seven goals already this term. Nebel epitomises Henriksen’s high-intensity playing and coaching style - famously geeing up the crowd before every game - by supplementing his goalscoring exploits with a tenacious approach to ball-winning, highlighting just how important defending from the front is in this Mainz system.

Since taking over in February 2024, Henriksen’s side have collected 68 points from a possible 114, the fourth-best total behind Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, and RB Leipzig. Their current total of 45 points is their best at this point in a season, surpassing the 43 that Tuchel’s side had in 2010/11.

Paul Nebel has been a big part of Mainz becoming more dangerous going forward. - DFL/Getty Images/Lukas Schulze

Mainz's improvement is also evidenced by their ability to take points off those above them this season, notably in wins over Bayern, Frankfurt, Leipzig, VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund. On another note of encouragement, they claimed 18 from a possible 24 points in their final eight matches of the Hinrunde, third only to Leverkusen (22) and Bayern (19). A repeat showing in the Rückrunde will see them over the line and into the Champions League for the first time.