Who will find new hope in the relegation battle?

At the start of the 28th matchday, it comes to a showdown in the bottom of the table when Gelsenkirchen, who currently hold the red lantern, welcome Herthaner, who are in 17th place. So far, the team from the capital has only picked up one more point and is already four points behind the bottom of the table. In the duel between Schalke and Hertha, it is not easy to make a bet on the outcome of the match. Whoever comes out on top here, however, will certainly have renewed hope of staying in the league.

Both teams, however, have little momentum to put on the line. While S04, after a brief upward trend, are winless in four league games in a row (two draws, two defeats), the Old Lady have only one win in their last seven league games (two draws, four defeats). Consequently, our prediction for Schalke against Hertha is to move away from the three-way system and towards a low-scoring game.

After all, both teams are in a direct relegation spot because they have struggled offensively so far. While Schalke have the worst offensive record in the Bundesliga with only 21 goals from 27 league games, Hertha BSC have the third weakest attack with 31 goals. It is therefore a good bet that a maximum of two goals will be scored in this basement duel on Friday evening, even though a 0-0 draw would certainly not help either side.

Schalke – statistics & current form

Fc Schalke 04 were heading for direct relegation throughout the first half of the season after returning to the Bundesliga as 2nd division champions. Just in time for the start of the second half of the season, however, the Gelsenkircheners somewhat surprisingly got their act together again.

In the first eight league games of the second half of the season, S04 remained completely unbeaten (two wins, six draws), defied, among others, the Champions League-calibre teams Union Berlin (0:0) and Dortmund (2:2) and ended the long away misery with a 2:0 win in Bochum.

Only 13 points from the 14 Bundesliga home games

Lately, however, there have been two defeats in a row again for the Königsblauen, who thus once more hold the red lantern.

With a total of five points behind the save bank, the overall situation looks correspondingly precarious. All the more so if the next turnaround doesn’t happen soon.

Although the odds are in favour of Schalke against Hertha. However, the balance sheet is clearly against Thomas Reis’ team, which is not only the weakest home team in the Bundesliga with just 13 points from 14 games, but has also lost all of its last three league games against today’s guests from the state capital.

The weakest offence in the Bundesliga

Making matters worse, the Königsblauen are finding it incredibly difficult to score goals. With just 21 goals from 27 league games, S04 have by far the worst offence in the entire Bundesliga, with only two goals being scored in the opening quarter of an hour in particular.

However, the adjustments that coach Thomas Reis needs to make primarily concern defensive stability. After conceding just four goals in the first eight league games of the second half of the season, the Schalke side conceded a total of five goals in their last two defeats.

Last matches of Schalke:

Bundesliga

• 10/04/2023 – Hoffenheim 2 – 0 Schalke 04
• 01/04/2023 – Schalke 04 0 – 3 Bayer Leverkusen
• 18/03/2023 – Augsburg 1 – 1 Schalke 04
• 12/03/2023 – Schalke 04 2 – 2 Borussia Dortmund
• 04/03/2023 – VfL Bochum 0 – 2 Schalke 04

Hertha – Statistics & current form

Hertha BSC Berlin just can’t seem to settle down in the Bundesliga. Ever since the “Big City Club” was proclaimed last decade and the attack on Europe was launched, the capital city has been stuck in the relegation battle year after year. Only last summer did the Old Lady manage to avoid relegation.

This season, despite new investors and a new direction – the “Big City Club” was recently officially buried again – things look similarly bad. With another 1-0 home defeat to RB Leipzig, Sandro Schwarz’s side are once again in a direct relegation spot

The third weakest offence in the Bundesliga

With an away win at the Veltins-Arena, the Old Lady could immediately extricate themselves from their predicament, at least temporarily climb to the relegation place and build up pressure on the competition. However, there is not much value to be found in the prediction of an away win for Schalke against Hertha.

After all, Sandro Schwarz’s men are also struggling to score goals and have the third weakest attack in the Bundesliga with only 31 goals from 27 league games. On foreign grounds, the Herthaners have only scored twelve goals in 13 games.

Without a win in ten Bundesliga away games

All in all, the performance away from home is largely responsible for the worrying current state of the capital club. The Old Lady won only one of the 13 Bundesliga away games in the 2022/23 season. With only five points, Hertha BSC are in the red in the away table.

Most recently, the black team managed a respectable 1-1 draw at SC Freiburg. However, the capital city team lost all eight of its previous matches in the Bundesliga. In total, only two of a possible 30 points from the last ten Bundesliga away games are on record.

Last matches played by Hertha:

Bundesliga

• 08/04/2023 – Hertha BSC 0 – 1 RB Leipzig
• 01/04/2023 – SC Freiburg 1 – 1 Hertha BSC

Friendly club matches

• 24/03/2023 – Berliner AK 07 1 – 5 Hertha BSC

Bundesliga

• 18/03/2023 – Hoffenheim 3 – 1 Hertha BSC
• 11/03/2023 – Hertha BSC 1 – 1 Mainz 05

Schalke – Hertha Direct comparison / H2H-Balance

Head to head: 44 – 16 – 35

There have been a total of 95 meetings between the two teams so far and Schalke lead the head-to-head comparison with 44 wins. However, Schalke have not won any of their last three league games against Hertha and suffered a 2-1 home defeat against the Old Lady in their last Bundesliga match to date.

Schalke – Hertha Tip

The betting odds on Schalke against Hertha are slightly in favour of the Gelsenkirchen team. However, it must be taken into account that the Royal Blues are not only the weakest home team in the Bundesliga, but also scored by far the fewest goals of all 18 first division teams (only 21). Consequently, betting on a home win for the Knappen, who have recently suffered two defeats in a row, is too risky to find any value in it.

However, betting on a point win for the Berliners is too risky in view of the dry spell on foreign grounds. Hertha have waited ten Bundesliga away games for another win (two draws, eight defeats). In view of the fact that the Old Lady is not all that dangerous offensively either, it makes all the more sense to bet on under 2.5 goals for Schalke against Hertha