When does the royal blue start to catch up?

During the week, the DFB Cup was the dominant sporting topic in German football. On Friday, it’s back to the swing for points in the Bundesliga. On matchday 20, the bottom team from Gelsenkirchen should finally start catching up, otherwise they could quickly find themselves back in the second division after just one season in the top flight.

From Schalke’s point of view, one should perhaps not spend too long looking at the table. After 19 matchdays, just eleven points are on the books. Of course, this is the last place, but there is still hope, because at least the relegation place is only five points away at the moment. The Königsblauen are not yet out of the woods, but now they need to start a series to get back on track.

The Lower Saxons had such a series before the winter break and also at the start of the new year, which has flushed Niko Kovac’s team into the fight for the European Cup places. In the meantime, however, the Wolves have buckled a little. Nevertheless, they are in a very respectable seventh place, even if the international places are five points away at the moment. With a win in Gelsenkirchen, however, they could significantly increase the pressure on their rivals.

Under Schalke’s coach of the century Huub Stevens, who recently officially retired, it was always said that the zero had to stand. The Knappen have obviously internalised that by now. However, they lack the necessary offensive threat. That’s why we can well imagine that a prediction of less than 2.5 goals in the match between Schalke and Wolfsburg should be quite decent.

Schalke – Statistics & current form

When you manage to pick up just two meagre wins in 19 Bundesliga games, it’s no surprise that your back is against the wall. Especially the away weakness is causing the Knappen a lot of trouble. It is therefore all the more important to score points and win at home. But that has happened far too rarely this season. Alongside Hertha, Schalke are therefore inevitably considered one of the biggest candidates for relegation.

Weakest attack in the league

After all, the trend in the last two weeks has been positive. Since Ralf Fährmann returned to the Königsblauen’s goalkeeper, they have not conceded a goal. The flip side of the coin, however, is that goals are still not being scored. With only 14 goals, the Knappen have by far the most harmless attack in the Bundesliga. Therefore, between Schalke and Wolfsburg, the odds on less than 1.5 goals for the home side should be considered.

After all, it remains to be said that Schalke have accepted the relegation battle. Even if there were only two points in five games after the winter break, all games, perhaps with the exception of the 1:6 against Leipzig, were very decent. The last two 0-0s at home against 1. FC Köln and away in Mönchengladbach were once again an improvement in performance.

Danny Latza and Marcin Kaminski are still no options on Friday. Sepp van den Berg is also unlikely to return. With Justin Heekeren and Sebastian Polter, two more players are missing. Perhaps Thomas Reis will now go for a system with two strikers in this groundbreaking game. Michael Frey is certainly an option in attack, as is Rodrigo Zalazar on ten, who is capable of setting the scene for the offensive forces accordingly.

Predicted line-up of Schalke:
Fährmann – Uronen, Jez, Yoshida, Brunner – Krauß, Balanta, Kral- Skarke, Terodde, Kozuki

Last matches played by Schalke:

Bundesliga
05/02/2023 – Gladbach 0 – 0 Schalke 04

29/01/2023 – Schalke 04 0 – 0 1. FC Köln

25/01/2023 – Schalke 04 1 – 6 RB Leipzig

21/01/2023 – Eintracht Frankfurt 3 – 0 Schalke 04

Club friendlies
14/01/2023 – Schalke 04 0 – 1 Werder Bremen

Wolfsburg – Statistics & current form

It wasn’t that long ago that VfL Wolfsburg were the team of the moment in the Bundesliga. Before the winter break and also the first two games in the new year, Niko Kovac’s team was extremely successful and made a huge leap forward in the table. You probably have to take this series as a basis when you want to judge the general performance of the Wolves. The fact that they don’t always get their best form on the pitch is another matter.

Pleitenserie aber keine Krise

So, including last week’s cup match at Union Berlin, VfL have lost their last three competitive matches. The nice series that the Lower Saxons had built up has thus vanished into thin air. If the turnaround is to be achieved, it would be best to do so in the guest game in Gelsenkirchen. In any case, the quotes indicate that the bookmakers are leaning more towards a forecast for an away win in the Schalke vs Wolfsburg clash.

Last weekend, it’s fair to say that Niko Kovac made a fool of himself. Against Bayern, he deviated from the well-rehearsed back four and wanted to offer something special with a three-man backline. This shot backfired. Bayern were 3:0 up early on. Jakub Kaminski and Mattias Svanberg only managed to score the consolation goals 1:3 and 2:4, whereby it has to be said that the Wolves were the better team overall, but defensively they did not show any security.

It is by no means a matter of course that after five games in the new year not a single player is injured. The Lower Saxons are also completely free of suspensions at the moment. Niko Kovac can therefore draw from a wide selection of players. However, we think it is conceivable that he will force his team back into the successful tactical framework with a back four.

Predicted line-up of Wolfsburg:
Casteels – Paulo Otavio, van de Ven, Bornauw, Baku – Svanberg, Arnold, Gerhardt – Kaminski, Wind, Wimmer

Last matches played by Wolfsburg:

Bundesliga
05/02/2023 – VfL Wolfsburg 2 – 4 Bayern Munich

DFB Cup
01/02/2023 – Union Berlin 2 – 1 VfL Wolfsburg

Bundesliga
28/01/2023 – Werder Bremen 2 – 1 VfL Wolfsburg

25/01/2023 – Hertha BSC 0 – 5 VfL Wolfsburg

21/01/2023 – VfL Wolfsburg 6 – 0 SC Freiburg

Schalke – Wolfsburg Direct comparison / H2H-Balance

Total of 54 duels to date between FC Schalke and VfL Wolfsburg. The direct comparison, with 18:16 wins and 20 draws, is just about in favour of the Schalke side. On the other hand, Niko Kovac as coach has a very positive record against the Königsblauen. Of eight direct duels, the Wolves coach won five and lost only one.

In the meantime, FC Schalke has been waiting for a win in the German top flight against the Lower Saxons for five games. The VfL currently has a longer unbeaten streak against no other club in the Bundesliga. In the first leg on matchday three at the Volkswagen Arena, however, there was no winner. In a tired match, the two rivals parted with a goalless draw.

Schalke – Wolfsburg Tip

The Schalkers not only have to score at home on Friday, but basically a victory is without alternative. To do that, however, they have to score goals and that is exactly where the Knappen have been lacking all season. The Schalkers have scored just 14 goals in 19 games. That sounds very much like they will remain goalless on Friday, but will probably score a maximum of one goal.

Wolfsburg, however, is an opponent who seems to be arriving in Gelsenkirchen at exactly the right time. After all, the Wolves have lost their last three games in a row. However, they had a great series before that and presented themselves very well for long stretches even during the defeats.

Niko Kovac has excellent credentials when it comes to preparing a team for a game against the Knappen. We therefore expect the Wolves’ little crisis to come to an end on Friday. There are a few variations you could bet on. In the end, we decided to play the betting odds between Schalke and Wolfsburg on a win for the visitors and a maximum of one goal for Schalke.