Preview: Mainz 05 vs Sigma Olomouc - prediction, team news, lineups

With the first leg having ended goalless, Mainz 05's home clash in the Conference League's round of 16 with Sigma Olomouc at Mewa Arena on Thursday is finely poised.

Neither side were particularly adventurous when they faced each other last week, and they were one of only two round of 16 ties to end without a goal in the first leg.

Match preview

Mainz not only managed to keep their first clean sheet in five games after their stalemate in the first leg, but they managed to score twice without reply against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

The club have consistently proven hard to beat having only lost twice in their last 16 games, and they are undefeated in five matches.

Urs Fischer's side did draw four times in that unbeaten stretch, scoring just six goals, and they have only netted three times in their four most recent European clashes.

There is an argument that Die Nullfunfer would be better served if they were eliminated from the Conference League given they are at risk of demotion from the Bundesliga, with just three points and three places separating them from the relegation zone.

Mainz will feel that they can get the better of the visitors considering they are unbeaten in seven fixtrues at Mewa Arena, a period in which they won five times.

Sigma only produced one shot on target in the first leg - a speculative effort from range - but they deserve credit for limiting Thursday's hosts to two efforts on target.

Tomas Janotka's team had scored in their prior seven Conference League outings, and their clean sheet was their first in any of their nine matches in the competition this season.

The Czech side are participating in the knockout stages of a European tournament for the first time since 2004-05, though they did reach the semi-final of the Intertoto Cup before losing to German club Borussia Dortmund in 2005-06.

Hanaci come into Thursday's clash having triumphed in four and drawn three of their past seven matches in all competitions, scoring two or more goals four of those games.

Sigma's fortunes on their travels has been mixed, as while they will be hoping to extend their winning streak on the road to four matches, they have won two and lost two of their last four away fixtures in the Conference League.

Mainz 05 Conference League form:

Mainz 05 form (all competitions):

Sigma Olomouc Conference League form:

Sigma Olomouc form (all competitions):

Team News

Considering Mainz will be without centre-backs Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Stefan Bell, Fischer is set to turn to Danny da Costa, Stefan Posch and Dominik Kohr.

The absence of defensive midfielder Nadiem Amiri because of a heel problem has thinned the hosts' options, so Paul Nebel, Kaishu Sano and Jae-Sung Lee may have to be relied upon once again.

Phillip Tietz and Silas Katompa Mvumpa both started in advanced roles in the first leg, and the duo will hope to retain their places in the XI.

With Sigma defender Jan Kral ruled out due to injury, expect to see Abdoulaye Sylla, Filip Slavicek and Jakub Elbel stationed in a back three.

Number nine Vaclav Sejk will hope to open the scoring on Thursday, though he will need fellow forwards Danijel Sturm and Antonin Rusek to be at their creative best.

Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:

Batz; Da Costa, Posch, Kohr; Widmer, Nebel, Sano, Lee, Mwene; Tietz, Mvumpa

Sigma Olomouc possible starting lineup:

Koutny; Sylla, Slavicek, Elbel; Sip, Beran, Barath, Lurvink; Sturm, Rusek; Sejk

We say: Mainz 05 1-0 Sigma Olomouc (Mainz win 1-0 on aggregate)

Mainz boast the advantage of playing the second leg at home, and Mewa Arena has been a fortress for them in recent weeks.

Sigma Olomouc have very limited experience as a club in the knockout stages of European football, and given their away record is mixed, their journey in the Conference League could end on Thursday.

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