Vfb Stuttgart v Mainz
Football : Germany " Bundesliga
Mercedes Benz Arena
Saturday, 1st May 2010 – kickoff 15:30

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Vfb Stuttgart

Vfb Stuttgart continued with their great displays last week when they beat Vfl Bochum 2-0 away which was their sixth win in a row. Vfb Stuttgart have lost only two matches during this second part of the season which makes them best team in the league since January. If they win this match against Mainz they will clinch the spot that leads in the Europa league for next season.

Right back Stefano Celozzi has an injured knee and is not able to play so his place in the starting line up will be taken by the Mexican international Ricardo Osorio. Aliaksandr Hleb will probably start this match from the bench, and Hilbertshould start at his place as a left winger. Cacau and Ciprian Marica are going to be the two strikers up front, while Pavel Pogrebnyak will be at the bench. Cacau has been in great form recently as he has scored four goals in the last three matches.

This is a last home match this season for this team and it will be quite emotional one too. The 40-year old goalkeeper Jens Lehmann will say his farewell and this will be the last match in his career.

Probable Vfb Stuttgart line-up :
Lehmann ,
Osorio, Tasci , Delpierre , Molinaro ,
Khedira, Träsch ,Gebhart , Hilbert ,
Cacau , Marica

Mainz

Mainz got back from being 1-2 behind last week and played an exciting 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. This is by far the best season for this team in many years as they are placed at the mid table on the tenth place with 45 points, so they can play the last two matches without any pressure at all.

Coach Thomas Tuchel has some problems with injured players and he might use a few youngsters in the starting line up so they can gain more experience. Tim Hoogland , Zabavnik and Zsolt Low are all out with injuries. Also the best player in the team, the offensive midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz will get some rest and will be at the bench. The young Simak Szalai will take his place in the midfield.

The team will play with one striker up front in Aristide Bancé who has been the team`s best striker this season with ten goals, and he has also scored three times in the last two Bundesliga matches.

Probable Mainz line-up :
H. Müller ,
F. Heller, Bungert , Noveski , Fathi ,
Karhan , Polanski ,Schürrle , Simak , Szalai ,
Bancé

The Betting Verdict

The first match between these teams ended in 1-1 draw. It`s quite simple now-Vfb Stuttgart really need points from this match and Mainz are under no pressure at all. It does not matter if Mainz loses both last matches as they can not finish under the tenth place, and they already are having their best season.

Mainz have been playing much better at home this season rather then away. They have only three wins and four draws from the 16 away matches played so far.

On the other side, Vfb Stuttgart are playing their last home game of the season, need to win to clinch the Europa league spot and plus the club would like to send Jens Lehmann in retirement with style.

I think that Vfb Stuttgart will get an emotional win here and will finish the season strong. The morale and team confidence is at highest level which is additionally boosted with Jens Lehmann`s last home match.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Vfb Stuttgart 3-1 Mainz

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take the Home win for Vfb Stuttgart as a main bet

and you can also try with Cacau to score anytime as another bet