Preview: A December tradition | OneFootball

Eintracht have a perfect record when hosting 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the last month of the year, but the visitors travel with momentum. The match date is also a first.

The backdrop

Mainz 05 are the last opponents of 2024 for Dino Toppmöller’s men. Kick-off against the team currently in seventh place is at 15:30 CET on Saturday 21 December at Deutsche Bank Park.   Eintracht head into the clash against the 05ers in third place and are still unbeaten at home in all competitions this season. Mainz, meanwhile, experienced victory at home just last weekend, when they inflicted a first league defeat of the season on FC Bayern with a 2-1 win. Lee Jae-sung was the hero with a brace and has now been directly involved in at least one goal in five consecutive Bundesliga matches for the first time in his career.

Looking back

When Mainz make the short trip to the heart of Europe, they usually return empty-handed. Frankfurt have won their last three home meetings with the 05ers without conceding, most recently in January of this year, when Mario Götze scored the only goal in a 1-0 success. The Eagles are unbeaten in eight Bundesliga matches against Mainz overall, with the last defeat falling in June 2020.

Breaking down the numbers further, the two clubs have met 33 times in the German top flight. Including the DFB Cup and lower divisions, this will be the 43rd encounter. The record stands at 14 wins for Eintracht, 18 draws and 10 Mainz victories.

December guarantee

The Eagles were also victorious on the final matchday before Christmas 2023, when Robin Koch’s last-gasp strike clinched a 2-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach and sent Deutsche Bank Park wild. That was on 20 December – this time it’s on 21 December, the first time Eintracht have ever played a Bundesliga fixture on the 21st day of the last month of the year.

Talking of December, Eintracht’s results when hosting Mainz in December in the years 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2021 read 2-0, 2-1, 3-0 and 1-0.

The first of many

The first meeting between Frankfurt and Mainz last season took place not in December but at the height of summer. On 27 August 2023, Omar Marmoush scored his first Bundesliga goal in an Eagles shirt. A further 24 efforts have followed since. With 13 goals and seven assists in the current campaign, the Egyptian international has the most goal involvements (20) in the league.