SC Freiburg vs Schalke 04 prediction, preview, team news and more | Bundesliga 2020-21
SC Freiburg will be hoping to return to winning ways when they host Schalke at the Schwarzwald-Stadion on Saturday in the Bundesliga.
With four defeats from their last five games, the Breisgau-Brasilianer have dropped to 10th in the league table. They remain seven points off qualification for the Europa Conference League playoff round.
Christian Streicher's men have struggled for consistency all season, a desperate lack of attacking firepower being a main reason.
Only seven teams, including Schalke, have scored fewer than Freiburg's tally of 40 goals. Nils Petersen, Vincenzo Grifo, and Rolland Sarai have netted seven times each, while no one else in the squad has accrued more than four.
That's still not as bad as Schalke, who are languishing at the bottom of the standings with just two wins all season. That is the lowest win total in Europe's top five leagues. They appear destined to be relegated.
They've had five different managers this season, and yet, the club continues to be in a perpetual freefall, residing 13 points off safety with 19 defeats from 28 games.
The Royal Blues have been in the top-flight for 30 years, but their Bundesliga sojourn is fast heading to a close.
SC Freiburg vs Schalke 04 Head-To-Head
There have been 33 previous meetings between the sides with the spoils closely shared as Freiburg have won 13 times compared to Schalke's 12.
However, the Royal Blues haven't defeated them since March 2018. They were served a 4-0 hammering on their last visit to Freiburg on the final matchday of last season.
SC Freiburg Form Guide (all competitions): L-L-W-L-L
Schalke 04 Form Guide (all competitions): D-L-L-L-W
SC Freiburg vs Schalke 04 Team News
SC Freiburg
Freiburg will have Ermedin Demirovic and Lucas Holer back in the squad from their suspensions, giving Streich some tactical flexibility.
Jeong Woo-yeong miraculously recovered in time from his knee injury for the last clash, playing 69 minutes against Arminia Bielefeld. He will keep his place in the XI if fit again.
Vincenzo Grifo has returned to training. He has been out since testing positive for COVID-19 during the international break. His availability for the game will be assessed in due course.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Schalke 04
The Royal Blues are walking wounded right now, with as many as eight players on the injury list.
William and Shkodran Mustafi were dropped to the bench in the last game for disciplinary reasons, and might return to the starting XI for this one.
Injured: Kilian Ludewig, Steven Skrzybski, Matija Nastatic, Mark Uth, Nassim Boujellab, Nabil Bentaleb, Hamza Mendyl, and Levent Mercan.
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
SC Freiburg vs Schalke 04 Predicted XI
SC Freiburg (4-4-2): Florian Muller; Lukas Kubler, Phillip Lienhart, Manuel Gulde, Christian Gunter; Jonathan Schmid, Baptiste Santamaria, Nicolas Hofler, Roland Sallai; Nils Petersen, Guus Til.
Schalke 04 (3-5-2): Frederik Ronnow; Timo Becker, Benjamin Stambouli, Malick Thiaw; Mehmet Aydin, Suat Serdar, Omar Mascarell, Sead Kolasinac, Kerim Calhanoglu; Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Amine Harit.
SC Freiburg vs Schalke 04 Prediction
Neither side enter the match in top form but Freiburg are still the favorites considering their overall record.
The home side beat Schalke in their last two games with an aggregate score of 6-0, and should comfortably sail through another resounding victory.
Prediction: SC Freiburg 3-0 Schalke 04