Schalke 04 vs Mainz
Schalke are looking to add another one to their winning streak as they host the stumbling Mainz at the Veltins Arena in the fifth matchday of the Bundesliga.
The Royal Blues have recovered well after their disheartening loss against defending champions Bayern Munich. They won in their last two matches with a clean sheet against Hertha and a victory against Paderborn.
Meanwhile, Mainz have had a terrible start this season. Save for their recent win against Hertha, the 05ers have lost against the likes of Freiburg, Monchengladbach, and Bayern Munich in what was a lopsided affair.
Can the 05ers find a way to end their slump? Or will David Wagner’s side continue their superb form as of late?
Allow SBOBET to give you a preview of what’s ahead on Saturday’s fixture.
Talking Points
Schalke’s upward trajectory
Good things have happened to Schalke since David Wagner took over as the team manager. After flirting with relegation last season, the Royal Blues are in a good spot at sixth in the table after winning two out of their first four games in convincing fashion.
Multiple players have stepped for the team. The likes of Jonjoe Kenny and Amine Harit have particularly been instrumental to their campaign so far as they’ve scored goals in all of their games.
Kenny is currently on a season-long loan with Schalke, and he has played every minute of their campaign as their right-back. While focused on fortifying the defence, the 22-year-old defender has been given the green light by Wagner to go forward from time to time which clearly boosted his confidence.
Harit, on the other hand, has returned to his excellent form this season. After a turbulent 2018/19 term on and off the pitch, the Moroccan midfielder is more than happy to be given a second chance of sorts by David Wagner.
It can be noted that Harit was involved in a fatal car crash that almost cost his career. He was sentenced to a four-month suspension following the accident and even paid a hefty fine after injuring a bystander.
But with that out of the way, Harit took it upon himself to work even harder for this season, and it has paid off. He was one of the team’s standout players in their 5-1 win over Paderborn and he’s already recorded two goals and two assists in the team’s first five fixtures.
Add along with the likes of Ozan Kabak, Benito Raman, and Weston McKennie, the Royal Blues will be a handful to deal with especially for the struggling Mainz side.
Die Knappen are currently on an upward trajectory. And if they can keep up with their stellar play, their Bundesliga 2019 odds for a top-six finish looks to be very likely.
Miserable start for the injury-riddled Mainz
There’s not much to say as to why Mainz have been struggling lately, but you could probably attribute it to their myriad of injuries.
For starters, their star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta is still sidelined due to a knee injury while key cogs in Stefan Bell and Dong-won Ji are suffering with injuries of their own too.
The 05ers’ performance on defence has been putrid as they’ve conceded 14 goals already in their first four fixtures, and it would be hard to imagine them posting a clean sheet against the streaking Schalke squad.
On their attack, Robin Quaison and Jean-Paul Boetius are expected to fill the void left by Mateta, but their other players in Karim Onisiwo, Edimilson Fernandes, and Jeremiah St. Juste will have to up their games even further just to give themselves a chance.
Sandro Schwarz will continue to face the daunting task of trying to appease their fans over at Mainz, and perhaps staving off relegation will be their main goal at least for this term.
History
Overall, Schalke have won 19 in their 34 total encounters against Mainz, while the latter has won in only nine. There have been six draws between them.
The Royal Blues’ last win at home against Mainz was back in September last year where Alessandro Schopf scored the marginal goal at the 11th minute.
Mainz’s last win against Schalke was a 3-0 affair last February where Jean-Philippe Mateta scored at the 84th minute while Karim Onisiwo bagged a brace.
Betting Tip
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Schalke 04 vs Mainz | Schalke 04 Asian Handicap -0.50 @1.71 |
| September 21, 02:30 (GMT+8) |
As a testament to their superb form recently, Schalke are pegged at 1.74 odds for a win while Mainz are at 4.40. The Bundesliga 2019 odds for a draw in the 1×2 market are placed at 3.75.
With the Royal Blues finding their stride, it’s hard to imagine Mainz stealing this one on the road, especially with Sandro Schwarz’s key men out with injuries.
Everything looks bad for Mainz and it may take a miracle for them to pull an upset in front of the raucous crowd at the Veltins Arena.
I see Schalke get a 2-0 win against the road team while they produce some of the best Bundesliga 2019 highlights in the process.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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