Will the Foals get off to a perfect start?
Just one game was enough to ignite the euphoria on the Lower Rhine. In the 3:1 win against Hoffenheim, Daniel Farke became the first Gladbach coach since André Schubert (2015) to celebrate a victory in his first league match. If the Fohlenelf can now add to their tally at the Veltins-Arena, Gladbach would start a Bundesliga season with two wins for the first time since the 1995/96 season.
There is a lot to be said for the visitors, because returnee Schalke presented themselves very pale on the first matchday. The royal blues had just 25% possession – a negative value for the league. Consequently, in the run-up to the NRW duel between Schalke and Gladbach, the odds are swinging in the direction of the guests.
The fact that the Gelsenkirchen side have been anything but successful in the top flight of German football makes matters worse. They have won just three of their last 51 Bundesliga games and have also lost four of their last six encounters with the Foals.
Accordingly, there is a lot of value in betting on an away win for Schalke against Gladbach, which would cement Schalke’s place in the bottom of the table.
Schalke – Statistics & current form
FC Schalke 04 have gone through some very critical years recently. After the second half of the 2019/20 season was already completely messed up, it went at the end of a desolate 2020/21 season as the bottom team down in the 2nd league.
There, the Knappen had some initial difficulties, but in the end celebrated their immediate return to the upper echelons of German football as second-division champions. This is where S04 now wants to re-establish itself. And at least the most recent years can be encouraging for the traditional team: Since 2012/13, the second-division champions have not been relegated posthaste.
Scarcely any possession and the fewest passes in the league
Nevertheless, the manner in which the Gelsenkirchen side lost their opening game 3-1 in Cologne last weekend was definitely concerning. In the end, the Königsblauen had just 25% possession with only 208 passes played. Two league-wide negative values.
The expectations for the home debut of the new season are correspondingly high. The Knappen won ten of the 17 home games at the Veltins-Arena in the 2nd Bundesliga last season.
Won only three of the last 51 Bundesliga matches
Nevertheless, it remains to be said that the Bundesliga is a completely different challenge. And here, the Gelsenkirchen team’s recent record continues to read disastrously. Only three of the past 51 league games in the German top flight have been won by the Schalke team.
Moreover, because the team has only won one of its last eleven games against the Foals, S04 will be underdogs in their first Bundesliga home game of the young season.
Predicted Schalke line-up:
Schwolow – Ouwejan – Kaminski – Yoshida – Brunner – Kral – Krauß – Mohr – Zalazar – Bülter – Terodde
Last matches played by Schalke:
Bundesliga
07/08/2022 – 1. FC Köln 3 – 1 Schalke 04
DFB Cup
31/07/2022 – Bremer SV 0 – 5 Schalke 04
Friendly club matches
23/07/2022 – Twente Enschede 3 – 1 Schalke 04
17/07/2022 – Schalke 04 1 – 1 Augsburg
13/07/2022 – Salernitana 0 – 0 Schalke 04
Gladbach – Statistics & current form
Although the 2021/22 season ended quite conciliatory for Borussia Mönchengladbach. Only one of the last nine league games was lost (five wins, three draws). Nevertheless, Adi Hütter had to pack his bags because of the disappointing tenth place in the final table.
After Favre’s cancellation, Daniel Farke was brought in as an interesting successor, who immediately sparked a new euphoria within just two games. The team from the Lower Rhine not only won the cup convincingly, but also won the Bundesliga opener with aplomb. In both games, the offensive scored a staggering twelve times.
For the first time in 27 years, two wins in the opener?
The down-to-earth coach still doesn’t want to hear anything about the euphoria that has broken out and is initially piling the pile low.
Nevertheless, Daniel Farke could now ensure that the Foals start a Bundesliga season with two wins in a row for the first time since the 1995/96 season.
In addition to the aforementioned offensive power, the record also speaks clearly in favour of Borussia. Against Schalke, Gladbach picked up the second most points (148 from 96 games) and scored the third most goals (159) in the club’s Bundesliga history.
Only two opposing finishes allowed
In addition, the defensive performance in the Bundesliga opener was also spot on. Gladbach allowed just two opponent shots on goal in their 3:1 victory over Hoffenheim. No other Bundesliga team kept its opponent away from its own goal even remotely as effectively last weekend.
Accordingly, there is a lot of value in betting on the next three-goal win for Schalke against Gladbach, especially since the last two games against the Gelsenkirchen team were won very clearly with a total of 7:1 goals.
Predicted line-up of Gladbach:
Sommer – Bensebaini – Elvedi – Itakura – Scally – Koné – Kramer – Plea – Neuhaus – Hofmann – Thuram
Last matches played by Gladbach:
Bundesliga
06/08/2022 – Gladbach 3 – 1 Hoffenheim
DFB Cup
31/07/2022 – SV Oberachern 1 – 9 Gladbach
Friendly club matches
23/07/2022 – Gladbach 1 – 1 Real Sociedad
20/07/2022 – Gladbach 1 – 1 RKC Waalwijk
17/07/2022 – Athletic Bilbao 0 – 0 Gladbach
Schalke – Gladbach Direct comparison / H2H balance
Head to head: 48 – 35 – 49
There have been a total of 132 meetings between the two teams and the record is largely even. Most recently, however, the clash has been clearly in the hands of the Foals, who have lost just one of their last eleven duels with the Königsblauen (five wins, five draws).
Schalke – Gladbach Tip
While euphoria has already broken out among Gladbach fans under the new coach after two wins from two competitive matches with 12:2 goals, the Schalke fans did not get the leverage even after being promoted back to the Bundesliga. S04 have only won three of their last 51 Bundesliga games, which is why our prediction for Schalke against Gladbach clearly goes to the visitors from the Lower Rhine.
The mixture of concentrated offensive power (twelve goals in two games) and highly focused defensive work (only two shots by opponents in the Bundesliga opener) speaks very clearly in favour of the Foals. Our recommendation therefore clearly goes to an away win for Borussia.
