Preview: Heidenheim vs Mainz 05 - prediction, team news, lineups

Fighting for their Bundesliga survival, Heidenheim will make a last stand at Voith-Arena on Saturday, when they welcome Mainz 05 for their final game of the season.

FCH are looking for a remarkable fourth win in six games this weekend, while Die Nullfunfer are hoping to bounce back after losing last time out.

Match preview

Frank Schmidt's Heidenheim seemed doomed to relegation just a few weeks ago, but a shocking turnaround has made a great escape a genuine possibility on the Bundesliga's closing matchday.

FCH are currently 17th in the table, level on 26 points with fellow bottom three sides Wolfsburg and St Pauli - the first time in 63 seasons that all of the demotion contenders have been even at this stage.

Schmidt's men survived by the finest of margins in 2024-25 when they triumphed in the relegation playoff, and in order to qualify for the clash this time around, they will need to win while also keeping an eye on Kiezkicker's showdown with Die Wolfe.

Should their rivals draw, then Heidenheim need only win, but if St Pauli come out on top then they must better their margin of victory, and if Wolfsburg triumph, then FCH will have to win while also making up their three goal-difference deficit to the White and Greens.

Typically, victory being a minimum requirement would cast doubt over a relegation contender's chances of success, but Schmidt has overseen an impressive resurgence in recent weeks.

Most recently, FCH took all three points in a 3-1 win over FC Koln on Sunday, following on from a 3-3 draw against Bayern Munich, and a potentially vital 2-0 triumph against St Pauli on April 25.

With that in mind, fans heading to Voith-Arena this weekend will be full of optimism, especially after seeing the hosts win back-to-back games on their own turf prior to kick off.

Meanwhile, Mainz could have been in a similar predicament to their opponents had Urs Fischer not taken the reins back in December, but the club are now comfortably safe in the Bundesliga for another season.

Die Nullfunfer are 10th in the table as things stand, and their tally of 37 points puts them equally 11 clear of the relegation zone, and 11 short of the top six.

Fischer's side are merely playing for position at this stage, but they will be keen to end the campaign strongly after a dismal run in recent weeks that saw the team eliminated from the Conference League quarter-finals by Strasbourg, as well as lose four of their last six games.

To make matters worse, Mainz's 3-1 defeat against Union Berlin on Sunday means that they have now won just once domestically - a 2-1 win over St Pauli - since their 2-1 success against Hoffenheim on April 4.

However, fans making the trip this weekend will be optimistic considering that the visitors have only been beaten once across their last seven away games, winning three of their four most recent Bundesliga matches on the road.

Heidenheim Bundesliga form:

Mainz 05 Bundesliga form:

Mainz 05 form (all competitions):

Team News

Heidenheim will be without left-back Leart Paqarada once again as he works his way back from a long-term knee injury, while right-back Marnon-Thomas Busch is a doubt after picking up a knock.

If Busch is unavailable, then Schmidt could start Omar Traore and Hennes Behrens at full-back once again, either side of centre-backs Patrick Mainka and Jonas Fohrenbach.

Elsewhere, attacking midfielder Sirlord Conteh remains sidelined with a knee injury, so expect to see Eren Dinkci and Arijon Ibrahimovic operate out wide, supporting Marvin Pieringer and Budu Zivzivadze up top.

As for Mainz, they will be missing centre-back Maxim Dal, who is closing in on a return from a knee injury of his own, while they could also be without fellow centre-halves Danny da Costa this weekend due to a knock, and Maxim Leitsch with a thigh issue.

Should Da Costa and Leitsch be ruled out, then Dominik Kohr, Stefan Posch and Kacper Potulski look set to start at the heart of Fischer's defence, flanked by Anthony Caci and Phillipp Mwene at wing-back.

At the opposite end of the pitch, strikers Benedict Hollerbach and Silas will both be out of action for some time as they recover from respective Achilles and ankle injuries, though Phillip Tietz and Sheraldo Becker should be on hand to operate up top.

Heidenheim possible starting lineup:

Feller; Traore, Mainka, Fohrenbach, Behrens; Dinkci, Schoppner, Dorsch, Ibrahimovic; Pieringer, Zivzivadze

Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:

Batz; Kohr, Posch, Potulski; Caci, Nebel, Sano, Amiri, Mwene; Tietz, Becker

We say: Heidenheim 2-1 Mainz 05

Heidenheim are in strong form, and given that they will be desperate for this win this weekend, they could overwhelm their opponents.

Mainz are only playing for position at this stage, and come into this clash in poor form, so it would not be a surprise to see them beaten once again.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.