Schalke 04 have taken only one point from their last three games, admittedly during a tough set of fixtures, after last Saturday’s 3-0 loss at the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich. Ahead of this face-off between two huge German clubs, Schalke’s run of form has seen them fall four points shy of the UEFA Champions League. However, coach Andre Breitenreiter has expressed his confidence in their chances of qualification with “winnable” matches against each relegation fighting Hannover 96, FC Augsburg and TSG Hoffenheim still ahead before the end of the season.
Bayer Leverkusen have hit form at exactly the right time, overtaking Hertha BSC last weekend, and claiming the coveted third place with a solid 3-0 win against relegation-threatened Eintracht Frankfurt. Leverkusen will hope to capitalise on Schalke’s shaky form as they look to seal their sixth consecutive Bundesliga win in a row and further solidify themselves within the top four. Roger Schmidt’s men have a difficult run in to close the season, with fixtures against Hertha Berlin and Borussia M’gladbach still to play. Leverkusen are also having to sweat the fitness of their star striker Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez (25 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions), who was subbed off late in last Saturday’s match against Frankfurt.
Schalke 04 have fallen to 7th in the Bundesliga as a result of their poor current form and Bayer Leverkusen will not be easy opponents to turn that around against given that Leverkusen are unbeated against Schalke in their last three meetings (two 1-0 wins and one 1-1 draw). Leverkusen have won each of their last five games in the Bundesliga and have not conceded in six games across all competitions – 540 minutes in total, a new club record – which will add motivation for them to continue that form. Though Leverkusen are waiting on a fitness report over Javier Hernandez, the Mexican has set new standards in his Bundesliga career, scoring on average every 120 minutes, and he’ll certainly be looking to score his third in four matches if he features. Combining Bayer Leverkusen’s joint top league form with this analysis and the statistics below, we expect Bayer Leverkusen to leave the Veltins-Arena with at least one point on Saturday. Hence, Bayer Leverkusen draw no bet and a final result of Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 at 17/2 seem top value bets for this match.
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