Table of Contents
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Schalke 04
There is an exciting basement duel in the Bundesliga this coming weekend. In the ninth matchday, Bayer Leverkusen, with a new coach, finally wants to turn things around and return to higher ground. On the other hand, Schalke also urgently need more points in the fight against direct relegation. The game kicks off on Saturday at 15:30 in the BayArena in Leverkusen, you can find our prediction in the following Leverkusen vs Schalke tip.
Leverkusen are still in a relegation spot after eight games. The ambitious Werkself has only managed five points and a single win so far, which means that they are currently only in 17th place. Schalke has collected one more point so far and is just above the line in 15th place, although they have also only managed one win. The direct duel between the two basement children will therefore be a six-point game early on in the season.
Leverkusen – Schalke Info
– Date & Time: 08.10.2022 at 15:30 hrs.
– Venue: Leverkusen, BayArena
– Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 9
– TV broadcast: Sky
Leverkusen Form & Balance Check
Leverkusen had certainly imagined their start to the season to be completely different. In Gerardo Seoane’s debut season, Bayer were one of the best teams in the Bundesliga last year and more than deservedly qualified for the Champions League. Not for nothing, therefore, was the anticipation for the second season under the Swiss great. But Leverkusen’s performance has not collapsed for the first time in recent years, and after only two wins from the first twelve competitive games, Seoane is already finished again. In the league, the Werkself are in a relegation spot, while in the top flight they have three points from two games.
Alonso takes over for Seoane
Nevertheless, the Leverkusen management decided to part ways with last season’s successful coach. Bayer failed to carry the momentum with them after their respectable win against Atlético Madrid. The performances in the following games against Bremen (1:1), Bayern (0:4) and most recently Porto (0:2) ultimately led to Seoane’s dismissal.
The new coach is Xabi Alonso, a former world-class player from Liverpool FC, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The Spaniard, however, has been a bit of a blank slate as a coach, most recently spending three years with Real Sociedad’s second team. Alonso now has a lot to do in Leverkusen, first and foremost he has to stabilise the defence and give the attack around the out-of-form Schick new confidence.
Leverkusen facts & analysis
– 17th place in the Bundesliga, 5 points from 8 games.
– Last lost 0:2 against Porto
– Only 2 wins from first 12 competitive matches
Schalke form & balance check
For Schalke, the Bundesliga return has been rather mixed so far. It is the expected difficult season of a promoted team that the Königsblauen are experiencing so far. Frank Kramer’s team has picked up just one win and six points from its first eight games and has thus been in the relegation battle from the start. After five games without a win to start with, Schalke only celebrated their first three points on matchday six against bottom side Bochum, who were already relegated, but the Knappen were unable to carry any momentum from that.
Defeat against Augsburg despite being outnumbered
There were two more painful defeats recently. First, the Revier derby against Borussia Dortmund was narrowly lost with 0:1, then last weekend there was a 2:3 defeat against FC Augsburg. The Königsblauen had first equalised a 0:2 deficit through Terodde and Krauß – Demirovic had scored twice – and then, after the yellow-red card against Augsburg’s Berisha, had 20 minutes in front of them when they were outnumbered. In the end, however, the Fuggerstadters managed the lucky punch through Hahn, Schalke once again went away empty-handed.
Schalke facts & analysis
– 15th place in the Bundesliga, 6 points from 8 games.
– Last lost 2:3 against Augsburg
– Only 1 win from first 8 games
Predicted line-up – last update on 6 October 2022
Xabi Alonso’s first starting eleven is eagerly awaited in Leverkusen. System and personnel are completely open, but we can imagine a 4-3-3. Schick will be flanked by the quick Diaby and Hudson-Odoi up top. Other alternatives are Kossounou, Bakker and Hlozek. Wirtz, Palacios and Bellarabi, on the other hand, are out.
On the Schalke side, we can imagine two changes compared to last week. On the one hand, Mohr could come in for Polter, in a 4-2-2-2, Bülter would then move up to the front next to Terodde. In addition, Frank Kramer has to replace the seriously injured van den Berg, Greiml is available. Kaminski, Zalazar and Cisse are also missing due to injury.
Leverkusen – Schalke direct comparison & statistics
Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04 have already played 77 matches against each other, 74 of which have come in the Bundesliga. Overall, the Werkself has the lead with 34 victories, while Schalke has won 20 games. 23 other duels ended in a draw. Leverkusen have won their last two encounters, while the Königsblauen have waited six games against Bayer for a treble.
– The most frequent result between Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04 is 1-1. 11 matches have ended like this.
– In front of their home crowd, Bayer Leverkusen have a proud record of 3 games without defeat against Schalke 04.
– The average number of goals scored in a Bayer Leverkusen vs Schalke 04 clash is 2.6.
– The average number of goals scored in the first half in matches between Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04 is 0.8.
– Both teams have only managed to pick up one win this Bundesliga season.
