On Sunday afternoon, Schalke hosts Koln at the VELTINS-Arena, as both teams look to get back to winning ways in the Bundesliga.
Schalke form guideThe Royal Blues poor Bundesliga campaign continued last time, as the Gelsenkirchen team suffered a 6-1 hammering at the hands of RB Leipzig. The loss was Schalke’s tenth in their previous 11 outings in the Bundesliga.
The game also saw Schalke’s leaky defence continue to ship goals, as they have now conceded at least two goals in nine of their last ten league matches.
Schalke’s poor run of form has seen them sink to the bottom of the Bundesliga table, and Thomas Reis’ team is now five points adrift of the relegation spot and also the safety of 15th place.
Koln form guideThe Billy Goats' recent Bundesliga form has been inconsistent, although they have taken four points from their two games since the return to action after the break. Last time out, Stefan Baumgart’s team drew 1-1 at the reigning champions, Bayern Munich.
However, Koln has won just one of their last seven games in the Bundesliga while suffering four defeats in the poor run. Their recent lack of wins in the league means that the visitors are now just six points clear of the relegation play-off spot.
Koln hasn’t won in six Bundesliga games on their travels, having suffered four defeats in the run. The visitors have conceded at least two goals in their two last away games in the German top flight.
Latest team newsSchalke look set to be without Sepp van den Berg, Sebastian Polter, Justin Heekeren and Niklas Tauer through injuries, while Thomas Ouwejan, Rodrigo Zalazar, Leo Griml and Alex Kral are also fitness doubts.
Koln has injury problems of their own, as Luca Kilian, Kristian Pedersen, Dimitris Limnios, Sebastian Andersson and Mark Uth all look set to miss out through injuries. At the same time, Timo Hubers and Florian Dietz are also injury doubts.
What am I backing?Schalke have been woeful of late in the German top flight. Koln’s recent performances have hinted that the Billy Goats are returning to form. With those factors in mind, I am backing the away win.