Round of 16 for the first time? Mainz can write club history

After the freestyle in the Bundesliga against Bayern Munich (2:2), does the duty against the Turkish club now follow? “That’s going a bit too far for me. The league comes first,” said Fischer. However, the Swiss emphasized that it would be good for the team to be able to avoid the two playoff games in February.

Mainz expects a full stadium with a loud atmosphere

Like Mainz, Samsunspor also needs to score three points if possible in order to make direct qualification for the next round perfect. Only the top eight can do that. Mainz (8th) and the Reis team (5th), like three other teams, have ten points to their name. Behind them there are numerous teams with nine and eight points lying in wait.

Mainz is expecting a large number of Turkish fans, but that shouldn’t be a disadvantage. “We are pleased that the stadium will be full and very atmospheric,” said defender Stefan Bell.

Amiri, Nebel, Kohr and possibly Widmer return

In terms of personnel, Fischer can again rely on playmaker Nadiem Amiri and Dominik Kohr and Paul Nebel, who were recently suspended in the Bundesliga, and possibly also Silvan Widmer. He has to do without Sota Kawasaki (structural injury), the suspended Nikolas Veratschnig as well as Robin Zentner, Phillipp Mwene and Anthony Caci, who have been out for some time.

Fischer is likely to move away from his defensive 5-4-1 system against Samsunspor after the 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich. “If it’s purely about the system, a change is possible. We’ll think about something to surprise the opponent,” said the 59-year-old.