Must win game for Rosler's fire fighters
Relegation threatened Fortuna Dusseldorf host a very out of sorts Schalke off the back of a painful draw in a Rhine derby that will feel like a defeat away at Koln. Uwe Rosler’s fire fighters led by two goals to nil deep into the second half and were levelled at 2-2 thanks to two goals in three minutes including an additional time header from Jhon Cordoba. David Wagner’s side have lost the aggregate of their last five matches 14-1 and have slipped from sixth to eighth since the resumption of the Bundesliga. Despite the recent form the Royal Blues are narrow favourites to arrest their slide with a victory.
Recent form
Last six
- Fortuna Dusseldorf – 1W, 4D and 1L.
- Schalke – 1D and 5L.
The hosts had the better of their last home outing and matchup post suspension, a 0-0 draw with Paderborn of which they hit the woodwork three times. Fortunen have picked up massively since the arrival of Rosler and yet are still three points from safety and Mainz in 15th place, I would argue that Mainz look significantly worse after their 5-0 defeat at home to RB Leipzig, they are certainly catchable.
Schalke have turned in two calamitous displays, the first forgivable, going down 4-0 at Westfalenstadion in the Revierderby at the hands of a ruthless Borussia Dortmund. The second a lot less so, an extremely concerning 3-0 upending to bottom half Augsburg at the Veltins Arena. The expected goals table suggests the Royal Blues have been punching above their weight all season long, with this slide more a regression to their base level, placing them in 13th behind the likes of Augsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Key man
Possibly my favourite goal of the weekend was scored by Erik Thommy. It will not get the kudos it might warrant if it was stroked home by Serge Gnabry or Jadon Sancho, but the strike was beautiful. Slipped in on the left side of the area by Steven Skrzybski, Thommy opened up his body shape and passed the ball through a defender’s legs gracefully into the corner, giving impressive shot stopper Timo Horn no chance.
The 25-year-old winger has contributed six goals and five assists this term, eye-catching numbers for a player in a relegation battle, with Fortuna only hitting the net 29 times in the league so far, the German has been directly involved in over a third. Thommy experienced relegation last season with Stuttgart, fueling his determination to ensure his fortunes do not repeat. He could prove the difference against a vulnerable Schalke backline.
Fortuna all the way, nothing can persuade me to side with Schalke at the moment, use Draw No Bet for some insurance.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
Fortuna picked up a crucial 2-1 win, Kenan Karaman netting his fifth in as many Bundesliga games .