German Bundesliga - Schalke 04 vs. Augsburg - Preview & Prediction
Having lost their last four outings, 14th-placed Augsburg will try to get back on track while paying a visit to 8th-placed Schalke 04, who haven’t won a game on their last eight tries. Kick-off - at 7:30 AM ET on Sunday, May 24.
Schalke 04 Get Battered In Dortmund
Schalke 04 lost for the third time in their past four league contests (D1 L3) after failing to show any resistance against Borussia Dortmund in a 4-0 Revierderby loss away at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday. The Royal Blues almost matched the visitors in shot attempts (11-10 to BVB), delivering three shots on goal, but controlled the ball just 40% of the time, allowing two goals in each half. Schalke 04 have failed to register a victory for eight straight games (D4 L4), being outscored 15-2, failing to score a single goal in six of those fixtures. The team is 8th in the league (W9 D10 L7), trailing Wolfsburg for a position in the Top 6 by two points.
German midfielder Suat Serdar leads Schalke 04 with seven markers, but has failed to get off the mark for four straight outings, with his last goal coming in a 2-0 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach back on Jan. 17. Goalie Markus Schubert, meanwhile, sits 23rd in the league with 29 saves from seven appearances. He has picked up two clean sheets and allows a goal every 43 minutes on average. The Royal Blues are 14th in most goals netted this season (33), 3rd from the bottom in most shots attempted (11.6 per game), 7th in ball possession (50.5%), and 8th in passing accuracy (78.3%).
Augsburg Lose Fourth In Row
The return to Bundesliga action ended up with a defeat for Augsburg, who were dealt their fourth consecutive loss following a 2-1 last-minute home fiasco against Wolfsburg at WWK ARENA on Saturday. The visitors opened the scoring at the end of the first half before left-back Philipp Max’s 54th-minute free-kick resulted in a Wolves’ own-goal. Both teams had markers disallowed subsequently, with Wolfsburg eventually snatching a dramatic injury-time winner, giving Die Fuggerstadter their fifth defeat in the last six league contests (D1 L5) and eighth in the past 10 (W1 D1 L8). Augsburg sits 14th in the Bundesliga (W7 D6 L13), four points above the bottom three.
With 11 goals buried this season, German striker Florian Niederlechner leads Augsburg in scoring. He has failed to find the back of the net for six straight games but has banked more Bundesliga markers versus Schalke 04 (4) than against any other German team. Goalie Andreas Luthe, meanwhile, is in line to make his third consecutive start this season. He has picked up eight saves in three previous appearances, allowing five goals. Die Fuggerstadter is 8th in most goals scored this year (37), the bottom of the league in shots taken (10.8 per game), dead last in ball possession (40.2%) and the absolute worst in passing accuracy (69.5%).
Prediction
Neither side has excelled in scoring lately. Augsburg has lost its last five road contests, failing to find the back of the net in the very last four. Schalke 04, meanwhile, has buried just two snipes in their past eight fixtures (D4 L4), going without a goal in six of them. The Royal Blues will also be lining up without injured attacking midfielder Amine Harit, who has bagged six snipes and four assists for his team this season. So, don’t expect the goals to pour in this fixture! Both teams have also struggled to register wins lately and have already drawn half of their past eight head-to-head meetings.
Best Bets:
Draw (+250)
Correct score: 0-0 (+130)
Under 1.5 goals (+255)
