After an exceptional year, Bayer Leverkusen faced the challenge of maintaining their success. However, they kicked off 2025 in an impressive manner by becoming the first team to win against Borussia Dortmund in this season’s Bundesliga away from home (3-2). Manager Xabi Alonso hailed it as a “remarkable performance” as Die Werkself extended their unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga to 14 matches (W9, D5), securing victory in their last six consecutive games.

This remarkable form has put Leverkusen back in the race to defend their title, with only four points separating them from league leaders Bayern Munich before this week’s fixtures. Alonso’s team are considered favorites in their upcoming match against an in-form Mainz side, largely due to their unbeaten run of 12 matches at the BayArena (W10, D2). Moreover, they were victorious in both encounters against Mainz last season in the Bundesliga.
Mainz are unlikely to be overly concerned about that, as they have managed to avoid losing in two out of their last four trips to Leverkusen (W1, D1, L2). There is further reason for them to feel confident, as they are currently on a three-match winning streak in the Bundesliga. It’s worth noting that the first two matches in this sequence were against teams who are also in the top three of the table (Bayern and Frankfurt).
Their comfortable 2-0 win against Bochum on Saturday solidified their position in the top four. This is a remarkable improvement compared to last season, when Mainz had 18 points less at this stage. Credit must be given to their manager, Bo Henriksen, as his team has only been defeated once on the road in all competitions this season (W5, D2).

Players to keep an eye on: Jeremie Frimpong, the wing-back for Leverkusen, played a crucial role in assisting his team’s decisive goal against Dortmund on Friday. In the six head-to-head matches against Mainz, Frimpong has directly contributed to four goals, scoring two and assisting two. In the Bundesliga this season, only Harry Kane (15) and Omar Marmoush (14) have scored more goals than Mainz striker Jonathan Burkardt (12). Burkardt’s brace against Bochum made him the all-time leading scorer for Mainz in the competition, with a total of 35 goals.

Interesting fact: Out of the 37 previous head-to-head matches, only five have ended in a draw, with Leverkusen winning 20 and losing 12.