There are 3 games to look forward to in the German Bundesliga on Sunday afternoon. The first of which takes place at the VELTINS-Arena as Schalke host Augsburg. These teams have a different goal this season with Schalke aiming to secure a place in the Europa League while Augsburg are hoping to avoid relegation.
Schalke begin the weekend in 8th place on 37 points and this leaves them 2 points adrift off the Europa League qualifying positions. However, the resumption of the league last week was not kind to Schalke who faced a trip to local rivals Borussia Dortmund. Schalke lost the match 4-0 and will be looking to give their fans something to cheer about on Sunday.
That result means Schalke have failed to win any of their last 8 games in the Bundesliga. They have been defeated by Bayern Munich, Koln and Borussia Dortmund away plus RB Leipzig at home. All 4 of those defeats have been by a significant margin and Schalke cannot afford to allow results to continue that way if they are to finish in the top 6 this season.
Home form in the Bundesliga shows just one win in their last 5 matches. The victory came against Borussia Monchengladbach on the 17th of January and since then Schalke have drawn 2 and lost one at home.
However, trends show they have been difficult to beat on home soil and Schalke have lost only one of their last 12 Bundesliga matches at the VELTINS-Arena.
Augsburg resumed their campaign last weekend with a home fixture against Wolfsburg and lost the match 2-1. It appeared as though they had sealed a point thanks to an equaliser in the second half but conceded a goal with seconds remaining in the game.
That result means Augsburg have lost each of their last 4 matches in the Bundesliga with the other 3 defeats coming against Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich away plus Borussia Monchengladbach at home, all of which were difficult games.
Their away form has been very disappointing and trends show Augsburg have won just 3 of their last 25 away Bundesliga matches. They have failed to score a single goal in each of their last 4 away games and have conceded 2 or more goals in each of their last 6 league matches on the road.
Looking ahead to the team news and Schalke are without the injured trio of Benjamin Stambouli, Jean-Clair Todibo and Omar Mascarell. Ozan Muhammed Kabak and Amine Harit are unlikely to be involved.
Augsburg have four doubts for this game, with Fabian Giefer and Julian Schieber the most likely to be available. Andre Hahn could be involved but Simon Asta is set to miss out.
Ready for the weekend ⚒️#S04 | #S04FCA pic.twitter.com/yWQ5IFSgDO— FC Schalke 04 (🏠) (@s04_en) May 22, 2020
Ready for the weekend ⚒️#S04 | #S04FCA pic.twitter.com/yWQ5IFSgDO
Augsburg have been so poor away from home over an extended period of time that it is unlikely they are going to take anything from this match, even inside an empty stadium. Schalke have not been in good form themselves but will see this as the perfect opportunity to pick up a much needed win. A home win and over 2.5 goals seems a likely outcome.