Two giants of the German game who have never won the Bundesliga play each other in the biggest match of Matchday 29 in Germany.
Schalke and Frankfurt were locked in a heated battle for fourth place recently. Schalke even spent some time outside the top four. Frankfurt’s inconsistency, including a loss against Bayern last week, gave Schalke the opportunity to take fourth place for itself. Schalke did exactly that, beating Werder Bremen in the late game on Saturday 2-0.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been one of the more consistent sides of the Bundesliga this season. They could only draw with Wolfsburg despite taking the lead. Leverkusen performed well against Fortuna Düsseldorf the week before; they played well against Bayern too prior to the international break too but lost 1-2. Bayer 04 will look to hold on to third place; a win over Schalke would virtually guarantee that spot.
The previous six meetings between the two sides are evenly spread. Both teams have three wins to their name against the other. In the previous meeting, a Schalke side in turmoil did not fare very well against Die Werkself. The Royal Blues conceded two goals from Andre Schürrle and Stefan Kiessling. A Kiessling penalty miss kept the score line respectable.
This time, Schalke has found a bit of form coming into this one. Schalke knows that a win in this one will give them a genuine chance to finish third and automatically qualify for the Champions League considering the gap between them is only four points. Schalke’s journey this season of course ended in heartbreak. They were unbeaten coming into their second leg clash against Galatasaray in the Round of 16. A traumatic home loss saw them exit the competition.
Schalke is a side which depends on the attack. They were a good all round side in the first four months of the season; however, afterwards, the defence seemed to tire. The Blues defence is no longer seemingly reliable. Leverkusen has maintained balance at both ends. The loss of this balance momentarily saw them lose out to Benfica in the Europa League this season. The foundation of Bayer 04’s season has been the counterattack. They will definitely set out to do so against Schalke.
Julian Draxler’s performance will be key for Schalke in this match. The side is built around this young German international. For Leverkusen, Andre Schürrle, Stefan Kiessling and Lars Bender will be the keys to victory. Considering neither side has managed to string together a consistent set of results recently, this could be a highly entertaining and even contest.
Prediction:
Schalke 1-2 Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been one of the more consistent sides of the Bundesliga this season. They could only draw with Wolfsburg despite taking the lead. Leverkusen performed well against Fortuna Düsseldorf the week before; they played well against Bayern too prior to the international break too but lost 1-2. Bayer 04 will look to hold on to third place; a win over Schalke would virtually guarantee that spot.
The previous six meetings between the two sides are evenly spread. Both teams have three wins to their name against the other. In the previous meeting, a Schalke side in turmoil did not fare very well against Die Werkself. The Royal Blues conceded two goals from Andre Schürrle and Stefan Kiessling. A Kiessling penalty miss kept the score line respectable.
This time, Schalke has found a bit of form coming into this one. Schalke knows that a win in this one will give them a genuine chance to finish third and automatically qualify for the Champions League considering the gap between them is only four points. Schalke’s journey this season of course ended in heartbreak. They were unbeaten coming into their second leg clash against Galatasaray in the Round of 16. A traumatic home loss saw them exit the competition.
Schalke is a side which depends on the attack. They were a good all round side in the first four months of the season; however, afterwards, the defence seemed to tire. The Blues defence is no longer seemingly reliable. Leverkusen has maintained balance at both ends. The loss of this balance momentarily saw them lose out to Benfica in the Europa League this season. The foundation of Bayer 04’s season has been the counterattack. They will definitely set out to do so against Schalke.
Julian Draxler’s performance will be key for Schalke in this match. The side is built around this young German international. For Leverkusen, Andre Schürrle, Stefan Kiessling and Lars Bender will be the keys to victory. Considering neither side has managed to string together a consistent set of results recently, this could be a highly entertaining and even contest.
Prediction:
Schalke 1-2 Leverkusen
