Bayern Munich welcome Schalke 04 to the Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon, with both sides desperate for points at opposite ends of the Bundesliga table.
With three matches remaining, Bayern find themselves at the summit of the Bundesliga, although Borussia Dortmund trail the perennial champions by a solitary point
Heutiges Training an der Säbener Straße mit Fokus auf #FCBS04 📸💪#FCBayern #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/s0stWumgEc— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) May 11, 2023
Heutiges Training an der Säbener Straße mit Fokus auf #FCBS04 📸💪#FCBayern #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/s0stWumgEc
At the other end of the standings, Schalke sit two points clear of the bottom three, having escaped the relegation zone thanks to a series of positive results.
Bayern Munich head into Saturday’s clash on the back of a 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen, with Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane grabbing the goals for the visitors.
As a result, the Bavarians have now won four of their last six Bundesliga matches, with nine victories coming in their previous 13 league outings.
Although Bayern have not been at their best this season – drawing eight and losing four of their 31 Bundesliga games – they remain in control of the title race.
It is also worth remembering that Bayern have avoided defeat in each of their last 22 home league games, winning five of their previous six at the Allianz Arena.
As for Schalke 04, they looked dead and buried after enduring a run of 11 defeats in 12 matches earlier this season. However, they have turned things around in recent months.
Not only have Schalke won three of their last four Bundesliga clashes, but they have also lost just three of their previous 14.
After thrashing Hertha Berlin 5-2 last month, Schalke lost 4-0 to Freiburg before securing back-to-back victories over Werder Bremen and Mainz 05.
That said, the Royal Blues have only managed to win two of their last 16 away games across all competitions, so they will struggle to make an impact in Bavaria.
Head-to-head: Bayern Munich have completely dominated this fixture in recent times, notching 11 successive victories over Schalke.
On top of that, Bayern have scored over 2.5 goals in seven of their last 11 meetings with Schalke, keeping nine clean sheets in the process.
Team news: Bayern Munich will be without the injured trio of Manuel Neuer, Lucas Hernandez and Josip Stanisic on Saturday, while Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano are doubts.
As for Schalke, there are question marks over the fitness of Soichiro Kozuki, Ralf Fahrmann, Moritz Jenz, Eder Balanta and Cedric Brunner.
When you couple the 35-point gulf between Bayern and Schalke with the Bavarians’ strong record in this fixture, all the signs point towards a straightforward home win.
Forebet predicts that Bayern Munich will secure a high-scoring victory over Schalke 04, with the hosts expected to score over 2.5 goals while keeping a clean sheet.