Mainz and Stuttgart share the spoils in German Bundesliga

Mainz and relegation threatened Stuttgart shared the spoils after goalless ninety minutes at the opener of the 16th round in Bundesliga on Friday.

   Both goalkeepers secured their side one point as neither Stuttgart's Lukas Rupp nor Mainz' Pablo De Blasis and Yoshiniro Muto were able to break the deadlock.

   Stuttgart were the more active team in the first half meanwhile the hosts lurked for their opportunities. Thus, Stuttgart reaped the first chance of the game after Georg Niedermeier flicked on a free kick cross into the path of Lukas Rupp, whose effort rattled the right bar in the 37th minute.

   The hosts lacked in penetration but they were nonetheless able to threat Stuttgart's defence as Daniel Brosinski unleashed a hammer from 20 meters, which tipped custodian Przemyslaw Tyton over the bar, six minutes before the break.

   Mainz turned up after the restart and had the chance to open the scoring through Yoshinori Muto, whose weak shot landed in the arms of Tyton. Stuttgart's goalkeeper was again in the thick of things moments later, after denying Pablo De Blasis from ten meters to secure his team one point on the road.

   With the result, Mainz climb to the 7th place for now meanwhile relegation threatened Stuttgart remain caught on the second last position. 

   The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: front-runners Bayern Munich host newly promoted Ingolstadt, Wolfsburg see Hamburg, Bremen face Cologne, last placed Hoffenheim clash with Hannover, newly promoted Darmstadt encounter Berlin and third placed Monchengladbach visit Bayer Leverkusen.  Endi