Mainz vs Bayern Munich live
Mainz have cruised through the first two rounds with 3-0 wins over lower-league Erzgebirge Aue and Lübeck. Now into the last 16, they face their first big hurdle on the road to Berlin. The 05ers will be confident after snapping a six-game winless run by beating Bochum 5-2 on Saturday. Karim Onisiwo was the star of the show with his first Bundesliga hat-trick and a hand in the other two goals. This is the third time Mainz will meet Bayern in the DFB Cup, having lost 3-0 in 1999/2000 and taking the record holders to extra-time under Jürgen Klopp in 2005/06 (3-2 loss). They were beaten 6-2 in Munich earlier this season, but the 05ers have been victorious in the last two encounters on home soil. First-choice goalkeeper Robin Zentner is still a doubt with a back problem, so Finn Dahmen should continue between the posts for Bo Svensson’s side. Ludovic Ajorque made his full debut at the weekend, but will likely give way to Marcus Ingvartsen. Jonathan Burkardt is still out with a knee issue.
Sommer probably wasn’t expecting to have gone three games in a Bayern shirt without a win or clean sheet when he joined from Borussia Mönchengladbach to cover for the injured Manuel Neuer. It’s been three 1-1 draws so far in 2023 against RB Leipzig, Cologne and most recently Eintracht Frankfurt. However, the Bundesliga champions are still a point clear at the top of the table after 18 matchdays. This is Bayern’s first appearance at this stage of the cup since 2019/20, when they won it as part of their sextuple. A different competition could see some other players given a chance, including a debut for Daley Blind. Ryan Gravenberch and Mathys Tel will also be hopeful of playing time. The latter scored on his only DFB Cup appearance as Bayern beat Viktoria Cologne 5-0 in the first round. The 20-time winners then saw off Augsburg 5-2 at the next stage to reach the last 16. This match still comes too soon for Sadio Mane as he continues working on his comeback, but we could see Deadline Day signing Joao Cancelo in some capacity after he trained with the team the day before.
