Two post-suspension losers face off in the capital
The bottom two teams in the Bundesliga if the table began upon the resumption in mid-May face off at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei in need of a win to stop their rots. Union Berlin host Schalke the more desperate side, just four points above Fortuna Dusseldorf in the relegation playoff spot, the Royal Blues are six points their superior yet are winless in eleven league outings, drawing four and losing seven. Both teams have shown glimmers of their true capabilities but not enough to arrest their respective slides, the pressure is heaping on David Wagner in the Schalke hotseat and therefore the trip to Union is a welcome one, a huge opportunity to pick up some points at the hime of the 2018/19 playoff winners.
Recent form
Schalke lost by one goal twice last week, against 16th and 17th placed Fortuna and Werder Bremen. Still seriously lacking at the top end of the pitch, with Wagner resorting to playing Salif Sane as a striker in the closing exchanges. The former Huddersfield Town boss must be grateful he is not having to deal with opposition from the stands, the visitors have slipped from sixth to 10th since the return to action with serious questioning thrown towards the board who have an important decision to make on whether to back or sack the gaffer.
After an abject display at Fortunen, they did improve slightly at the Veltins Arena on Saturday, despite the defeat they picked up considerably in the second half to win the expected goals battle 0.79 – 0.35 and the shot count 12 to six. The forecast is more shuffling of the pack with Wagner searching for better combinations in attack.
Union were second best and expectedly so in the last encounter, going down 4-1 away to Borussia Monchengladbach, Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea were far too clever and powerful to facilitate a contest in their push for the Champions League places. It was a tough afternoon. Union showed a lot of character in coming from behind to draw 1-1 against Mainz in their last home game.
Robert Andrich set them back by getting a second yellow card on just 40 minutes, but the Iron Ones stood up to the test admirably against a decent Mainz attacking contingent. They could have gone on the win the match despite the number disadvantage and edged the xG battle. Marcus Ingvartsen’s free kick got them on level terms and from there on it was good display from the collective. Writing off the Gladbach defeat they should come into this match with the belief they can pull themselves away from danger in victory.
Key man
Attacking wideman Daniel Caligiuri’s experience will be very valuable in the Royal Blues looking to turn their form around. The 32-year-old Italian is approaching 300 appearances in the Bundesliga yet has regressed this season only contributing four goal involvements from 24 league games. A key contributor in the DFB Pokal on the other hand, the newly appointed skipper Caligiuri will look to push back right wing back Christopher Trimmel and decrease his creativity, this one on one matchup will have a significant bearing on who will edge this even affair.
Schalke have the personnel to cause Union problems who have looked hesitant in the absence of their excellent home crowd.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
Union were far the better team but 1-1 it ended, Wagner's side managed to stop the rot.