Two teams in desperate need of a result in the Bundesliga will lock horns at Veltins-Arena on Sunday afternoon as Schalke 04 welcome relegation-threatened Augsburg.
Schalke were thumped 4-0 by Borussia Dortmund on their return to action last weekend, while Augsburg lost 2-1 at home to Wolfsburg as Germany's top flight resumed after more than two months without a game.
Match preview
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Schalke were second best by some distance against Dortmund last weekend, conceding four times in the derby to suffer a heavy defeat. It was a tough afternoon for David Wagner's side, and there is no question that the supporters will be demanding a response on Sunday afternoon.
The Royal Blues are actually without a victory in the Bundesliga since January 17, losing four and drawing four of their last eight matches in Germany's top flight.
Worryingly, Wagner's team have lost 5-0 to Bayern Munich, 3-0 to Koln and 4-0 to Dortmund in three of their last four matches, but they are still in a decent spot in the table.
Indeed, a total of 37 points from 26 matches has left them in eighth position, just two points behind sixth-placed Wolfsburg ahead of a match that they will expect to win on Sunday afternoon.
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Heiko Herrlich was due to charge of his first match as Augsburg manager last weekend, having been appointed on March 10, two days after the team suffered a 2-0 defeat at Bayern Munich.
The 48-year-old was not in the dugout against Wolfsburg, though, after breaking quarantine rules for a supermarket trip. Augsburg ultimately suffered a 2-1 defeat on Saturday, but the hosts were just moments away from securing a point before conceding in stoppage time.
The Bavarian outfit, who will have Herrlich in the technical area this weekend after he recorded a second negative coronavirus test, have now lost each of their last four in the Bundesliga and have only picked up one league victory in 2020, which was a 2-1 home success over Werder Bremen at the start of February.
A total of 27 points has left them in 14th position in the table, just four points ahead of 16th-placed Fortuna Dusseldorf, and they have a huge game against basement side SC Paderborn on Wednesday night.
Schalke Bundesliga form: DDLLDL
Schalke form (all competitions): DLLLDL
Augsburg Bundesliga form: LDLLLL
Team News
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Schalke suffered two injury blows in last weekend's clash with Dortmund, and neither Amine Harit nor on-loan Barcelona centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo will be available for selection against Augsburg.
Omar Mascarell and Benjamin Stambouli are also still on the treatment table, but Ozan Kabak could overcome a back injury to return to the squad on Sunday afternoon.
Daniel Caligiuri and Suat Serdar both returned from injury against Dortmund last weekend and should keep their spots, while Michael Gregoritsch could come into the XI.
As for Augsburg, Simon Asta is still on the sidelines, but Herrlich's team did not suffer any fresh injuries in the 2-1 home defeat to Wolfsburg last time out.
Felix Uduokhai came off the bench last weekend and could now return to the XI, but there are not expected to be any alterations in the final third with Florian Niederlechner again leading the line.
Schalke possible starting lineup:
Schubert; Oczipka, Nastasic, Sane, Kenny; Schopf, Serdar, McKennie, Caligiuri; Gregoritsch, Raman
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Luthe; Lichtsteiner, Jedvaj, Uduokhai, Max; Baier, Khedira; Richter, Lowen, Vargas; Niederlechner
We say: Schalke 1-1 Augsburg
Both sides will feel that they can cause the other team problems in the final third of the field, and it should be a fascinating match on Sunday afternoon. Augsburg have not beaten Schalke since December 2015 but two of their last three Bundesliga meetings have finished level, and we fancy a low-scoring draw here.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Schalke 04 win with a probability of 47.81%. A win for Augsburg had a probability of 28.06% and a draw had a probability of 24.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Schalke 04 win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.45%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.25%) and 2-0 (7.72%). The likeliest Augsburg win was 1-2 (6.93%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.32%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 1.7% likelihood.
