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Eintracht Frankfurt – Schalke 04
This weekend, the Bundesliga, the last of Europe’s top 5 leagues, will finally resume play. After the top match between Leipzig and Bayern (Leipzig – Bayern tip) on Friday evening, the action continues on Saturday with a total of six games. One of them is the clash between SG Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Schalke 04, which kicks off at 3:30 pm at Deutsche Bank Park.
The signs for the match are clearly set for a home victory. Despite the double burden, the SGE has played an excellent first half of the season and is in a strong fourth place in the table after 15 match days. Schalke, on the other hand, have been slacking more and more after a decent start to the season and have lost eight of their last nine games. The results of the winter preparation are also anything but promising. S04 did not win any of the six test matches and conceded a total of twelve goals.
As if that were not enough, the statistics are also clearly in favour of the Eagles. Frankfurt are unbeaten against Schalke for ten home games (six wins, four draws) and have celebrated as many home victories against no other team in the Bundesliga as against the Königsblauen (27). Whether we expect home win number 28 on Saturday is now revealed by our Frankfurt vs Schalke tip.
Frankfurt – Schalke Info
– Date & Time: 21.01.2023, 15:30 Uhr
– Venue: Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt
– Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 16
– TV broadcast: Sky
Frankfurt Form & Balance Check
The SGE went into the new season with high expectations after the terrific last season and have definitely been able to fulfil them so far. In league play, Eintracht Frankfurt picked up a strong 27 points from their first 15 games – a new club record in the era of the three-point rule. Before the World Cup break, Oliver Glasner’s team took seven points from three games.
In the Champions League, after a spectacular last matchday and many twists and turns, it was enough for second place behind Tottenham Hotspur and ahead of Sporting Lisbon and Olympique Marseille. The Eagles now face SSC Napoli, one of the most in-form teams in Europe, in the last 16.
Offensive is incredible fun
The SGE owes its success mainly to its playful offensive department. In retrospect, the transfer of Randal Kolo Muani proved to be an absolute stroke of luck. With nine assists, the newly-crowned French international is the Bundesliga’s top scorer. Only Jamal Musiala collected more points (15) than the 24-year-old Frenchman (14).
Together with the resurgent Mario Götze and an increasingly strong Jesper Lindström, the trio causes fear and terror in the opposing defences on a weekly basis. 36 major chances and 32 goals are only surpassed by Bayern. It’s quite possible that the Frankfurt train will start rolling again against susceptible Schalkers.
Frankfurt facts & analysis
– 23 points from 13 games
– Last played 1:1 in Mainz
– Unbeaten in 10 home games against Schalke (6S, 4U)
Schalke form & balance check
Promoted FC Schalke 04 have taken just nine points from their first 15 games of the season and now face the difficult task of improving in the second half of the season in such a way that they can close the five-point gap on the safety net. However, both the performances of the season so far and the test matches in the winter break give little hope that this project will succeed.
After a decent start to the season, Schalke lost eight of their last nine games in 2022, only beating FSV Mainz 05 1-0 at home, and they did not win a single one of their six test matches during the winter break. Most recently, they lost 1:1 against 1. FC Nürnberg and Werder Bremen. Transfers have been made, but are unlikely to work wonders. In addition to defensive midfielder Niklas Tauer from FSV Mainz 05, a new left-back, Jere Uronen, was signed from Stade Brest.
Hope from the Knappenschmiede?
The biggest reinforcement this winter could therefore come from our own ranks. While the World Cup was taking place in Qatar, Schalke also gave talents from the U23s the chance to prove themselves with the professionals. One took advantage of this opportunity like no other: Soichiro Kozuki. The 22-year-old Japanese is at home on the right flank and immediately impressed in his first test appearances. Many experts even expect him to be in the starting eleven for the second-round opener against Frankfurt. It remains to be seen whether he can liven up the Schalkers’ harmless offensive play.
Schalke facts & analysis
– 9 points from 15 games
– Last lost 0:2 against Bayern
– None of the 6 test matches won in the winter
Predicted line-up – last update on 19 January 2023
The SGE will still have to do without centre-back Tuta for the start of the second leg. Jakic, Smolcic and N’Dicka are therefore expected to form the back three. Touré is another alternative. Otherwise, we expect the usual starting eleven.
Schalke’s injury list is still long. Polter, Kral, Tauer, Heekeren, Zalazar and Greiml are all out due to injury in the first match of the new year. Ouwejan and van den Berg will soon return to the squad, but in all likelihood not yet against Frankfurt. Karaman and Mohr are other alternatives for the starting eleven.
Frankfurt – Schalke direct comparison & statistics
The direct comparison is almost even after 105 games. 41 victories for S04 are offset by 39 successes for the SGE. 25 encounters did not find a winner. In the last four encounters, the home team has always prevailed, both opponents twice each. Schalke won the most recent encounter in the second half of last season 4:3.
– The winner of the last encounter was Schalke 04.
– Attention, goals are likely to be scored today: Schalke 04 have conceded one goal in each of their last 12 matches.
– Did you know that Eintracht Frankfurt score only 9% of their goals between the 76-90 minute? That is the worst value in the league.
– A year ago, Eintracht Frankfurt was in 9th position in the table with 21 points. Currently they are in position 4 (27).
