One of couple of very interesting matchups in German Bundesliga this weekend is also the clash that will take place at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen between Schalke 04 and Hamburger SV. The Miners and the Red Shorts are both having disappointing seasons which they’ll try to forget as soon as possible. Team from Gelsenkirchen is out of the battle for the spots that lead to Europa League next season while Hamburger SV find themselves below the relegation line at the moment and in a frenetic need of some kind of a positive result at any cost. Let’s take a closer look at the analysis that we have prepared for you.
FC SCHALKE 04 vs. HAMBURGER SV
3-Way: 1: FC Schalke 04 +112; X: +283 Draw; Hamburger SV +280
Spread -0.5: FC Schalke 04 +112; Hamburger SV -118
Total +2.5: Over -128; Under +125
FC SCHALKE 04
The Schalke 04 team is finishing the season the same whey they started it, disastrously. After the exit from Europa League in the quarterfinals against Ajax, the Blues fans can certainly characterize the entire season unworthy of mention. Schalke 04 currently ranks 10th in the league with 41 points in 32 matches and the spots that lead to the European competitions next year are out of the reaching distance. Team’s ominous inconsistency will haunt the fans during the offseason and head coach Markus Weinzierl is likely to be without of a job when the season ends. Especially hurtful was the defeat that occurred four rounds ago on the road against Darmstadt, the worst team in the league this year.
The Blues are 3-2-3 in last eight matchups and 2-2-0 in last four games in front of their own crowd. The team is unable to string two wins since mid March and the thriller overtime exit from Europa League competition last month only made things worse. Overall record at Veltins Arena is 8-4-4 with 28-14 goal difference (43-38 overall) and they present the worse ranked team in the league with positive goal difference. In the home league table, team ranks eighth with 28 of 48 possible points earned (68% of their total points have been earned at home). Schalke scores 1.75 and concedes 0.88 goals per match at the home soil (1.34-1.19 overall) and 56% of their home games had under 2.5 goals in total. 69% of their home matches had under 3.5 goals and only 12% of their total matches had over 2.5 goals at the halftime. In 31% of home matches they managed to score in both halves while conceding in both halves in only 16% of their matchups. 50% of their games seen the both teams score and most common result at home is a 1:1 draw (occurred four times) while most common score at the half time was 0:0 (occurred six times).
Forward Guido Burgstaller tops the team in scoring with eight goals in the league while midfielder Alessandro Schopf has six in his account. Bosnian left back Sead Kolasinac leads the team in assists with five while Daniel Caliguri and striker Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting have four each in their accounts. Mesmerizing passing statistics can be attributed to Bendeikt Howedes and Nabil Bentaleb who recorded 1392 and 1155 total passes so far. Goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann played every minute for the team this season (32 appearances) and collected 69 saves with eight clean sheet games.
Alessandro Schopf and Baba Rahman are both out for the season with cruciate ligament injuries while Choupo-Moting (Knee injury) and Naldo (Groin injury) are listed as doubtful for Saturday. Breel Donald Embolo’s (Broken ankle) status is unknown.
HAMBURGER SV
It was fascinating how bad the Hamburger SV team entered this season. They were winless in first 12 rounds with only four points earned (worst start of the season in club’s history) and first victory came after more than three months of play against the newcomer Darmstadt on the road (2:0). Fans that had big expectations started to realize that battle for survival might be the reality for their beloved team this year and those prophecies became true. Team is currently ranked below the relegation line with 34 points in 32 games. They have the same amount of points as the FSV Mainz 05 that is ranked above the relegation line but they have worse goal difference than the “Nullfunfer.” Direct clash between these two teams in Hamburg last weekend ended goalless and gave the upper hand to the visitors.
The Red Shorts are winless in last four games and they are 2-2-4 in last eight games including 0-1-3 record on the road since mid March. They have measly two wins on the road this season (2-3-11 overall record) with 11-35 goal difference (30-59 overall) and they rank 17th on the road league table with only nine of 48 possible points earned. Only worse team than them when visiting is Darmstadt, who will be playing in Zweita next season. Team scores 0.69 and concedes 2.19 goals away (0.94-1.84 overall) and 62% of their road matches had over 2.5 goals in total. 38% of their away games had over 3.5 goals and only 6% of their visiting matchups had over 2.5 goals at the half time. Hamburger SV concedes at least one goal in both halves in every second road game while they score in both halves in every fifth away match. They’ve failed to score a goal in 56% of visits and both teams scored in 44% of their total matchups. Most common result on the road is a 3:1 loss (occurred three times) and most common score at the halftime is 0:0 (occurred six times).
No Hamburger’s player found his shooing boots this season as Michael Gregoritsch, Nicolai Muller and Bobby Wood have meager five goal each in their accounts. Something is obviously wrong with the team’s offense when you see the fact that the best assister has more assists then the best scorer has goals (six by Muller). Passing segment belongs to defenders Gotoku Sakai and Mergim Mavraj who collected 828 and 813 total passes so far. Goalies Rene Adler (19 appearances), Christian Mathenia (12 appearances) and Tom Mickel (one appearance) recorded 88 saves and they have eight games with clean sheets combined.
Mergim Mavraj (suspension) is unavailable for Saturday while Rene Adler (Broken rib) is out for the season. Tom Mickel (Illness) and Dennis Diekmeier (Thigh) are listed as doubtful while Albin Ekdal (Thigh) and Nicolai Muller (Knee) should be back in circulation in a few days. Nabil Bahoui (Shoulder injury) and Andreas Hirzel (Muscle injury) are back in training.
FC Schalke 04 vs. Hamburger SV – Match Prediction
If Hamburger SV losses this one they will be one step in the Zweita and there can’t be any lack of motive on their side but I’m not sure they have the juice to take down Schalke in Gelsenkirchen. The Blues on the other side are totally unpredictable and that makes them dangerous for anyone. They don’t really need the points but home win is always welcomed by the fans. My bet here would be under 2.5 goals in total.
My pick: Under 2.5 goals (+125)
Additional Pick: Both teams to score NO (+140)
