For pretty much the whole Bundesliga campaign Schalke have been woeful. The team from Gelsenkirchen have won just twice in their 28 league outings this season. Relegation has been a foregone conclusion for a while.
However, a 1-0 home win over Augsburg gave the Royal Blues something of a boost ahead of a trip to midtable Freiburg on Saturday afternoon.
In truth, though, Schalke are now just playing for pride in the German top-flight, as they are 13 points from safety with just six league matches to go. It would be a football miracle if they were to somehow maintain their top-flight status.
One thing that is seemingly in Schalke’s favour is the fixture list, as Dimitrios Grammozis’ team plays several of their basement rivals in the final months of the season.
Even if they cannot pull off the greatest of great escapes, at least if Schalke can reclaim some pride from their final games of the campaign so they can head into next seasons in a more positive mood.
The home team are in the limbo of 10th position, as a recent poor run of league form ended their chances of clinching a top-six spot and qualifying for next season’s Europa League.
Christian Streich’s team heads into this clash on the back of just one win from their last five Bundesliga outings, having suffered four defeats in the process.
The team from the Black Forest have struggled for goals of late in the German top-flight, as they have failed to score in five of their last eight league outings.
Freiburg’s recent home form has been inconsistent in the Bundesliga, as they have won just three of their last six matches at the Schwarzwald-Stadion while losing two of their last three matches on home soil.
Forebet predicts that Schalke’s flickering hopes of survival will end, with Freiburg recording a victory in a high-scoring encounter.