Hoffenheim will travel to Mainz for their 11th Bundesliga match in the 2025/26 season. Head coach Ilzer stated that Mainz can suddenly explode in crucial moments, therefore urging his team to elevate their performance to another level.

In the 10th round of matches, Hoffenheim defeated Leipzig 3-1 at home thanks to goals from Hajdari, Tim Renperer and Prömer.

After securing their fourth consecutive victory, Hoffenheim currently sits in 6th place in the standings with 19 points, while Mainz, who are winless in their last five matches, are in 17th place with 5 points.

Hoffenheim coach Ilzer said at a press conference, "Mainz's strength lies in their ability to display tremendous energy in matches, so we must be prepared for confrontation in all aspects. At the same time, we also need to use technique to break down pressing situations, and we must be prepared to do our best in terms of basic skills."

"Motivation is always just a facade. If a team needs motivation, it means it's not committed enough. We know it's going to be a tough game ahead. Even though they don't look good in the standings, I know this team's strength very well. We have to assume they could bounce back at any time and put on an impressive performance, so we also have to be prepared to take our own performance to another level."

Yilzer continued, "We only have one day to prepare, which is a challenge. Some players who participated in national team matches only recently returned to resume training, while others only rejoined the team today. But the positive thing is that they all came back with high morale and have achieved some success with the country."

"The players who stayed in the team have been training very well with the U23s, and our preparations for tomorrow's game will be very tight and streamlined, but also quite in-depth."

Regarding the squad, Ilzer said, "We need to assess everyone's condition through training. But overall, everyone is available to play. Valentin Gendre participated in a friendly last week, and Hrözek has also been able to train with the team recently, so this is positive progress."