Bayer Leverkusen – Schalke 04 (Bundesliga)
Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04 open the 31th round of the Bundesliga this friday night, at BayArena in Leverkusen. With only one victory conquered in their last nine consecutive league games, Bayer Leverkusen is having a very poor season compared to their last ones and are yet secure maintenance. Schalke 04 are just a little better, also without maintenance secured and going through a disappointing season, having been tossed out of Europa League quarter-finals last week, at the hands Ajax where they showed several defensive problems.
Bayer Leverkusen are in 12th place in the Bundesliga table with 36 points, which comes from 10 victories, 6 draws and 14 defeats, with 43 goals scored and 46 goals conceded. Even after being eliminated from the German Cup and the last sixteen of the Champions League, Bayer Leverkusen are still performing mediocre campaign in the Bundesliga and, besides being out of the race for the european spots, they are also only 4 points clear of the bottom three, having to hurry to secure maintenance.
Even when they play on home ground, with the support of their fans, Bayer still show a lot of difficulties in winning, having won just 1 of their last 6 consecutive home games, scoring 9 goals and conceding 9 in the process. Even after Roger Schmidt was fired, and with Tayfun Korkut assuming the head coach role, the team are yet to show improvements and are continuing to disappoint their own fans, showing great defensive gaps. Offensively, Leverkusen scores most of their goals through individual skills, as they have very talented players who are capable of making the difference.
In their last 5 official games, Bayer Leverkusen won 1 game, draw 2 and lost the remaining 2. This sequence of results started with a 3-3 home draw against Wolfsburg. This result was followed by a 0-2 away victory over Darmstadt, a 1-0 away defeat against Leipzig, a 0-0 home draw against Bayern de Munique, and in their last clash, a 2-1 away defeat at Freiburg’s ground.
Probable Lineup: Leno – Hilbert, Dragovic, Toprak e Wendell – Havertz, Baumgartlinger, Kampl e Brandt – Chicharito e Volland.
Schalke 04, on their turn, are in 11th place in the Bundesliga table with 38 points, which comes from 10 victories, 8 draws and 12 defeats, with 39 goals scored and 35 conceded. Schalke are going through a similar season as their opponent in this game, having been showing and irregular form since the beginning of the competition and are now seeing the european spots almost out of their reach, with the 6th place 6 points away, but with a lot of competition for it. The Royal Blues not only are 6 points below from european spots, but also are only 6 points clear from the bottom three, which means they must secure maintenance as fast as possible.
The team as been in a very poor form away from home, losing 3 of their last 6 consecutive away games, winning just 1, and scoring 6 goals while conceding 11 in the process. Adding to this, last week Schalke discussed the 2nd leg of Europa League semi-finals and ended up eliminated by Ajax, with dutch team outnumbered. The Gelsenkichen’s side has been evidencing some defensive problems, mainly in defending counter attacks, and are conceding too many goals lately. Offensively, The Royal Blues play with width and attempt crosses often, with counter attacks and attacks down the wings being their mainly offensive strengths.
In their last 5 official games, Schalke 04 won 2 games, draw 1 and lost the remaining 2. This sequence of results started a 4-1 home victory against Wolfsburg. This result was followed by a 2-0 away defeat against Ajax, for the Europa League, a 2-1 away defeat against Darmstadt, a 3-2 home win over Ajax, for the Europa League, and in their last clash, a 1-1 home draw against Leipzig.
Probable Lineup: Fahrmann – Coke, Howedes, Badstuber e Kolasinac – Caligiuri, Stambouli, Bentaleb e Meyer – Huntelaar e Burgstaller.
Bayer Leverkusen won 4 of the last 8 direct confronts, drawing 2 and losing the remaining 2.
Schalke 04 | 0-1 | Bayer Leverkusen |
1. Bundesliga 16/17
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Schalke 04 | 2-3 | Bayer Leverkusen |
1. Bundesliga 15/16
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Bayer Leverkusen | 1-1 | Schalke 04 |
1. Bundesliga 15/16
|
Schalke 04 | 0-1 | Bayer Leverkusen |
1. Bundesliga 14/15
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Bayer Leverkusen | 1-0 | Schalke 04 |
1. Bundesliga 14/15
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Bayer Leverkusen | 1-2 | Schalke 04 |
1. Bundesliga 13/14
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Schalke 04 | 2-0 | Bayer Leverkusen |
1. Bundesliga 13/14
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Schalke 04 | 2-2 | Bayer Leverkusen |
1. Bundesliga 12/13
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In a clash that opposes two teams with clear defensive difficulties, but are in a good offensive moment, it is predictable a game with several chances on both sides of the pitch, with both teams being able get on the scoresheet.