The DFB Pokal has reached the quarter-final stage and the pick of the matches on Wednesday night sees Wolfsburg travel to play Schalke in the Veltins Arena.
Schalke have already seen off BFC Dynamo, Wehen Wiensbaden and Koln in the DFB Cup this season. However, this is set to be their biggest test in the competition to date but one the home fans will expect to pass. Wolfsburg defeated Eintracht Norderstedt in their first DFB Pokal game of the season before beating Hannover 1-0 at home in the following round. They were made to work at Nurnberg in the third round before defeating the hosts 2-0 in extra-time to book their place in the quarter-final.
German Cup – FC Schalke 04 v VfL Wolfsburg – Arena AufSchalke – Wednesday 7th February 2018 – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 12/5 at Coral |
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Schalke 04
Vfl WolfsburgSchalke Form
Schalke suffered a disappointing 2-1 home defeat at the hands of relegation threatened Werder Bremen on the weekend. That result robbed them of the chance to be second in the Bundesliga and enhance their Champions League qualifying credentials. The winter break has done Schalke no favours and prior to the rest period they picked up 7 wins and 6 draws in 13 games in all competitions. Following the resumption of competitive action in 2018, Schalke have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 2 of their 4 games. However, Schalke have remained entertaining to watch for the home fans and they have scored at least once in all but one of their home games this season. Bayern Munich are the only team to prevent them from scoring a goal.
Wolfsburg Form
Wolfsburg have also been struggling to win games following the winter break and they have won only 1 of their 4 competitive matches. They were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Stuttgart on the weekend but will be happy to see their way form has picked up a little in 2018. Prior to the winter break, Wolfsburg had won only 1 of their 8 away matches, which was the victory over Nurnberg in the cup. However, since the turn of the year they have held Borussia Dortmund to a 0-0 draw and defeated Hannover 1-0 away from home. The main problem for Wolfsburg on the road has been scoring goals and while they have conceded only 1 goal in their last 5 away games, they scored just three times themselves, two of which came in extra-time at Nurnberg.
FC Schalke 04 v VfL Wolfsburg – Betting Odds and Predictions
Naldo has been a threat in-front of goal this season and the defender would enjoy getting on the scoresheet against his former employers. The Brazilian has 3 goals in his last six games and can be backed at 7/1 with Ladbrokes to score at any time.
Team News
Schalke have two players who will miss this game with injury and central defender Pablo Insua and central midfielder Weston McKennie will be forced to watch from the sidelines. Wolfsburg also have some players unavailable and Ignacio Camacho, Jakub Blaszczykowski and John Brooks are all on the treatment table.
Top Betting Tip FC Schalke 04 v VfL Wolfsburg
Schalke will believe they are the better side going into this game judging by the league position of the teams but Wolfsburg have been tough to beat away from home recently. The draw is 12/5 with Coral. Schalke have been in good goal scoring form at home this season and that means if Wolfsburg are to take the tie beyond 90 minutes, they will need to score themselves. The 1-1 draw is 13/2 with William Hill.