RB Leipzig – Schalke 04 / Bundesliga – On the first matchday of the Bundesliga second half is another derby on the program between two teams from the top of the table. Leipzig is fifth in the table and has not won in the last four league games. Schalke are two points clear of today’s rivals and the team from Gelsenkirchen has not played as well for a long time as in the first round. The miners have also made it to the Cup quarter-finals, while Leipzig is eliminated, but for the Leipzig play in the 1/16 finals of the European league. In the first leg Schalke celebrated a 2-0 home win.
RB Leipzig
This season, the hosts from Leipzig could not repeat the great game from the first round of last season, but one did not expect, because this time they participated in the Champions League. They had a strong desire to make it into the knockout phase, but they had to settle for third place in the group so that they would play in the Europa League for the first time in history. They were eliminated from the Cup, but since they played against Bayern, it was no surprise, while they lost some points in the championship unplanned. Especially bad they played in the finish of the first round.
On the last four matchdays, they recorded two draws and just as many defeats. Especially painful was the high 0: 4 defeat against Hoffeneim, while the second was collected at home on the last matchday against Hertha. Midfielder Keita remained in the team, although his departure was announced. Injured are Halsenberg and Forsberg.
Schalke 04
For a long time, the miners did not play as well as current, which meant that they currently occupy second place in the table. Bayern have a big lead, but they did not expect the championship title anyway, so they would be more than satisfied with the runner-up title. In the second half a very difficult task awaits them, because the first four pursuers have only two points less on their account, including Leipzig. Currently they are in a series of 13 games without matches. In the cup they reached the quarterfinals.
As for the championship, they have not been defeated in the last eleven rounds and the last defeat they conceded at the end of September, where they have drawn four times in the last five matchdays and only in Augsburg they have celebrated. They were 0-2 down in Frankfurt on Matchday 2, but equalized in the last few seconds of play. Some players have been hired during the winter transfer time and the most valuable reinforcement is midfielder Pjaca of Juventus, who is about to start the tournament.
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / YES / @ 1.74
