Bayern Munich vs Schalke 04 Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Bayern Munich turned around their “unconvincing” run in style last weekend. The Bundesliga leaders dominated and humiliated Hamburger SV with a 8-0 win at home, which also saw Polish striker Robert Lewandowski (pictured above) become the Bundesliga’s joint top scorer (19 goals), as he netted his first hat-trick of 2017. Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who won the DFB Pokal under Pep Guardiola last season, have one of the trickier draws of the quarter finals ahead of them here.

Schalke held the reigning champions to a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena just a few weeks back. However, though the visitors have lost just once since the winter break (W4 D4 L1), the Royal Blues still have a lot of work to do to qualify for Europe again this season – winning the DFB Pokal poses one such opportunity.

Bayern Munich are huge favourites at 1/5 with bet365. While we fancy the reigning champions to progress through to the next round, an outright bet on the Bavarians isn’t too tempting at such a short price. Instead, we feel there’s some decent value in “both teams to score” here for the following reasons: Schalke put up a decent fight at the Allianz Arena just a few weeks back and they’ve been consistent in front of goal since – Schalke have scored at least one goal in 8 of their 9 competitive fixtures in 2017 (89%). While Bayern Munich hold the best defensive record in the Bundesliga (13 goals conceded), the reigning champions are also not without imperfection – Bayern Munich have failed to keep a clean sheet in 45% of their Bundesliga matches at home.

Though both sides are likely to field full strength lineups, cup dynamics alter the way such a match would usually play out: both sides have had just a few days rest so there’s opportunity for mistakes to arise, while an urgency for goals in a one leg knockout format means that Schalke, for example, will have no concern throwing men forward in an effort to progress if they find themselves trailing.

Regarding a correct score bet, Bayern are the stronger side on paper, hold a top track record against Schalke at home (see head-2-head), and have had an extra days rest. We feel that Bayern’s scoring form has changed for the better since the two sides last met (13 goals in last two home matches across all competitions) and should play a crucial role here. As such, Bayern’s 3.18 goals scored per match average at the Allianz Arena, combined with Schalke’s potential to clinch a consolation goal, should make a 3-1 win to Bayern Munich at 10/1 a decent shout.