Bayern still have job to do at Mainz despite PSG excitement

Six days on from being crowned Bundesliga champions for 2025/26, Bayern are back in league action on Saturday as they visit Mainz for Matchday 31 (kick-off at 15:30 CEST, live coverage on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app with our text commentary and free web radio). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our preview.

Check out the best photos from final training on Friday:

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Vincent Kompany was keen to insist that thoughts of Bayern changing their approach for the game at Mainz, with one eye on Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg away at Paris Saint-Germain, did not exist. “The Mainz game isn’t a warm-up. It’s a Bundesliga fixture. We want all three points,” the head coach affirmed at Friday’s press conference. However, the Belgian suggested that he would “make decisions that are logical in terms of managing workload,” which he believes opposite number Urs Fischer would also do in a similar scenario. He therefore wants to field players who “don’t have to think about things because they’re fit, because they’re fresh”. The 40-year-old added, “The important thing is that the mentality is there, that we’re ready to play our best game.”

Read up on the facts ahead of the trip to Mainz:

Changes to line-ups have been a feature of Bayern’s approach in the business end of the season. There have been at least seven alterations to starting XIs across each of the last three competitive fixtures, but it hasn’t impacted the team’s form in any way. The newly crowned Bundesliga champions have won 14 of their last 15 games across all competitions. The one exception was the 1-1 draw away at Bayer Leverkusen with nine men. The Munich club remain undefeated away from home in the league this season, and Kompany is eager for that record to remain intact. “I can make decisions, not forget about the big goal, but also have no fear of bringing in fresh players, to push them to fight. That’s been the mentality all season. We won’t change that now,” the boss insisted.

Read more from Kompany’s pre-match press conference here:

Opponent: Mainz

A late penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw away at Borussia Mönchengladbach will have boosted Mainz’s confidence after back-to-back competitive defeats. They were indeed rare losses of late, as their form in 2026 has lifted them comfortably away from the relegation zone and got the 05ers on the verge of Bundesliga safety. “We’re pleased with the point and that we maintained the gap over Gladbach. The team believed until the end,” said sporting director Niko Bungert of last Sunday’s result. His team sit 10th in the table coming into Matchday 31, eight points clear of the play-off spot in 16th. It’s a comfortable cushion that few could’ve imagined at the season’s halfway mark.

Get the lowdown on Mainz here:

When Fischer took charge of his first game in the reverse fixture at the Allianz Arena in December, Mainz were rock bottom of the table with only six points. But their 2-2 draw in Munich propelled the 05ers to a remarkable turnaround that has taken them to the cusp of securing another season in the top flight. The Swiss coach said at his press conference ahead of this next encounter that the result half a season ago “gave the team confidence again, but that we’re not there yet. We’ve still got three points on the line against Bayern. We need points. The team has looked very focused to me this week.”

Team news

Bayern remain without Serge Gnabry (adductor), Lennart Karl (hamstring), Tom Bischof (calf) and Sven Ulreich (muscular) for the trip to Mainz.

The hosts are missing Benedict Hollerbach (Achilles tendon), Silas (broken leg), Jae-sung Lee (broken toe) and Kasey Boss (shoulder).

Try our matchday quiz ahead of this game:

What the coaches say