This weekend will see the 7th round of German Bundesliga fixtures as the action gets under way on Friday night with Schalke welcoming Bayer Leverkusen to the Veltins Arena. Schalke will be aiming to make a return to winning ways and cement their place in the top half of the Bundesliga table prior to the international break. Bayer Leverkusen are aiming to make a return to winning ways and move into the top half of the table themselves.
While neither team are expected to challenge at the top of the Bundesliga this season, two Champions League qualifying spots could be there for the taking and both clubs could claim one if they found some consistently good form.
Schalke Form
Schalke come into this match looking to avoid recording 3 successive defeats in the Bundesliga. Their previous home match was against Bayern Munich last Tuesday and they went down 3-0 before losing 2-0 at Hoffenheim on Saturday. However, a look at their home form shows Schalke are unbeaten in 9 of their last 10 home Bundesliga games, with the defeat against Bayern Munich being their only loss in that run of matches. Having said that, Schalke have lost their last 3 home matches against Bayer Leverkusen and have won only 1 of the last 6 games against their upcoming opponents.
Bayer Leverkusen Form
Bayer Leverkusen have 2 of their 6 games in the Bundesliga this season. Both victories have come at home and they are yet to pick up a point on the road. They have 7 points from their 6 games, with the other point coming courtesy of a 2-2 draw at home against Hoffenheim.
Away from home, Bayer Leverkusen have lost all 3 of their Bundesliga games this season. They have managed to score a goal in each of those 3 games but have conceded a total of 8 goals and this has left them empty handed. Both teams have scored in each of Bayer Leverkusen’s last 6 away Bundesliga games and while they are clearly capable of scoring away from home, keeping the opposition out has proved very difficult.
Team News
Schalke are without the injured duo of Jorge Andujar Coke and Alessandro Schopf for this game. There are also doubts over the fitness of Donis Avdijaj, Luke Hemmerich and Nabil Bentaleb. Bayer Leverkusen have a doubt over Lars Bender, who has a foot injury but every other player is available for selection and if Bender makes it, they will be at full strength for this game.
Top Betting Tips
There is little doubting Bayer Leverkusen’s goal scoring threat when playing away from home and they should get a goal in this game. However, they struggle to keep them out at the other end and both teams to score is 4/7 with Ladbrokes. Given Bayer Leverkusen have a poor defensive record on the road this season, Schalke will fancy their chances of getting the goals required to win the game. Schalke to win and both teams to score is 10/3 with Ladbrokes. You can also get 12/5 with Ladbrokes on Schalke draw no bet which is tempting.