Kasper Hjulmand says Bayer Leverkusen are full of confidence after their recent results, and he wants to start a busy period for the club with a win over Mainz on Saturday.

Leverkusen are unbeaten in their six matches under Hjulmand in all competitions and went into the international break on the back of a 2-0 win over Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.

Hjulmand has collected ten points from his first four league matches with Leverkusen, a feat only surpassed in the competition by Klaus Augenthaler (12), who won his first five games in charge of the Werkself back in 2003.

Leverkusen currently sit fifth in the table, seven points behind early pacesetters Bayern Munich, ahead of Hjulmand's return to Mainz, where he spent just under a year in 2014-15.

"We've been able to take confidence from our last outings and want to continue engraining our style of play," Hjulmand said on Friday.

"This block up until the next international break is obviously hugely important. But we only focus on the next game.

"Bo [Henriksen] is a top coach and a great guy. But [Saturday] isn't about him and me. It's about getting the win for Bayer 04."

Mainz have struggled so far this season and sit 16th in the table at the start of the weekend, but could drop into the relegation zone by kick-off on Saturday.

They have earned just four points from their six games, having won just once so far (D1 L4). In fact, they have lost their last two Bundesliga matches 6-0 on aggregate, the worst record in the league over the last two matchdays.

Mainz have failed to score in four of those six matches, while they have not kept a clean sheet in their last 17 Bundesliga outings, a run dating back to February, but Hjulmand remains wary.

"[They are] a team with great quality, who showed last season by finishing sixth and qualifying for Europe what the team is capable of," Hjulmand added.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Mainz – Nadiem Amiri

Nadiem Amiri is one of Mainz's five goalscorers this season and leads the way in expected goals (1.2), expected assists (1.2), shots (11) and shots on target (three).

He has also created eight chances for his team-mates, another team high, though he is yet to register an assist this campaign.

Bayer Leverkusen – Christian Kofane

After netting his first Bundesliga goal at 19 years and 70 days, Christian Kofane could become just the second foreign player to score in consecutive Bundesliga appearances for Leverkusen, after Tin Jedvaj in 2014 (18y 288d).

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Mainz have lost five of their last seven Bundesliga home games against Leverkusen (W1 D1) and are winless in their last three (D1 L2). 

However, Mainz have never gone four consecutive home games without a win against Leverkusen in the top-flight.

They do face a Leverkusen side in fine form on the road, as they are unbeaten in their last 36 away matches in the Bundesliga (W24 D12), which is currently the longest such run in the competition.

In Europe's top five leagues, only Paris Saint-Germain (39 between February 2023 and April 2025) and AC Milan (38 between September 1991 and October 1993) have had longer away streaks than the Werkself, who will want to keep closing in on those records.

And they stand a good chance of doing so, as Mainz are only the second team in Bundesliga history, after Greuther Furth in 2012-13, to lose their first three home games of a season without scoring a single goal.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Mainz – 35.1%

Draw – 26.4%

Bayer Leverkusen – 38.5%