It will be up to Shalke and Mainz to open the ninth round of the 2017/2018 German Championship this Friday, October 20th. At the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, the match is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. and puts a spot in the qualifying zone for European tournaments next season.
Schalke’s recent performance
The owners of the house, which have a more consistent campaign, close the block of teams that would be ranked for the Europa League 2018/2019 edition occupying the sixth place. With a surprising 2-0 victory against Hertha in Berlin on Saturday, October 14, they had 13 points (four wins, one draw and three losses).
The challenge to defend the production is to overcome the irregular stage at home. Shalke have managed to score just one point in the last six at Veltins Arena. They lost to Bayern 3-0, a result that can not be considered surprising, but also disappointed when they went on to be 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen. With seven points from the 12 possible totals in his dominions, it appears only like thirteenth better principal of the Bundesliga.
Coach Domenico Tedesco has two important medical doubts to define the team I will face Mainz. Serbian defender Matija Nastasic (seven matches in the 2017/2018 German Championship without a goal) suffered an ankle injury while at the disposal of his national team to take part in the qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Hertha and will have to undergo the new evaluation to know if it will be available to face Mainz.
Another who is in the infirmary is the American midfielder Weston Mckennie, who also did not play last Saturday with a thigh injury. According to the German press reports, the problem is not serious and there is a good chance that he will be released to perform on Friday.
Still should be a low defender Pablo Insua. Hired next to Leganés, the Spaniard suffered a rib injury during the preseason and has not yet made his debut at Schalke.
The current form of Mainz
After a poor start, Mainz were re-qualified in the German Championship with two wins and a draw in the final three rounds. The most recent one happened on Saturday at home, 3-2, against Hamburg.
With 10 points (three wins, one draw and four losses), he completed the eighth round in tenth place. If they beat Schalke on Friday with a two-goal difference, they will be able to spend Friday night in the UEFA European Championship qualifying zone as the round will only continue on Saturday, 21 October.
To reach the goal you will need a result still unheard of. Mainz failed to win outside their dominions in the 2017/2018 Bundesliga. He has only been one of the nine points that he played in this situation and appears only as the fifteenth best among the 18 teams that compete in the tournament.
Coach Sandro Schwartz also has players handed over to the medical department. However, the importance of these athletes to the squad is lower when compared to the Schalke athletes who are doubtful for the game this Friday. Defender Niko Bungert (no Bundesliga season 2017/2018 season), midfielder Phillipp Klement (no performances) and striker Karim Onisiwo (two performances, no goal) are in the infirmary.
History of the bouts between Schalke and Mainz
Schalke defeated Mainz on two occasions when the teams met the previous season. For the first round of the Bundesliga 2016/2017 scored 3-0 at home. In the second round, he won by 1-0.
PREDICTION: Schalke win @ 1.80
