With Bayern Munich taking the lead and counting the days to bring home another Bundesliga trophy, the fight for the runners-up was what remained of their pursuers in the second half of the 2017/2018 season. The Leipzig and Schalke clash this Saturday, January 13, for the eighteenth round of the tournament, the first of the second round, places second place in the game. At the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, the kick-off is set for 3:30 p.m.
The recent performance of Leipzig
Boosted by high investments from energy drink producer Red Bull, Leipzig reached the runner-up soon in its first participation in the elite division of German football in 2016/2017. However, with the spot in the Champions League showed not have cast able to divide between competitions.
Thus, he completed his participation in the first round in the fifth position. He reached 28 points (eight wins, four draws and five losses), outside the qualifying zone for the Champions League. However, the score was the same as for Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Eliminated from the German Cup by Bayern Munich, Leipzig will have fewer games to play in the second half of the season. Besides the Bundesliga, the team will only have commitments for the Europa League. He will face Napoli in February at the opening of the knockout stage of this continental second division.
Coupled with the standstill period of the German Championship, it is possible to imagine an improvement in the performance of Leipzig, which ended in 2017 with very poor results in a sequence of five matches without a win. It was two draws and three losses. The last one was traumatic. At home they took 3 to 2 of Hertha Berlin, who has played with one player less since the first seven minutes (Torunarigha was sent off).
The preparation for the second half of the season featured a friendly. On January 6, Leipzig beat Dukla Prague of the Czech Republic 2-0.
The current form of Schalke
Schalke, by contrast, finished 2017 high. He made a series of 13 games without defeat. Nothing spectacular. There were seven wins and six draws. But enough to send the team to the quarterfinals of the German Cup – they will face Wolfsburg – and lift him to second place in the Bundesliga. He added 30 points (eight wins, six draws and three losses).
Fighting for the title is practically out of the question. The difference for Bayern Munich is 11 points. In addition to being a very large range, it should still be taken into account that the Bavarian team is technically far superior. So the fight for the vice is also the goal of the Gelsenkirchen team.
Schalke’s preparation for the second half of the season also featured a friendly match. The team defeated Genk from Belgium 2-1. Coach Domenico Tedesco has two medical doubts for his re-start in the German Championship. The defender Pablo Insua (without performances in the 2017/2018 season of the Bundesliga) and midfielder Leon Goretzka (11 matches, four goals) are in injury treatment.
History of the bouts between Leipzig and Schalke
In three encounters involving the teams there was a victory for each side and an equality. In the first round of the current season of the Bundesliga, Schalke beat the rival by 2 to 0.
Although they have drawn three draws and two victories in their last five away games, Schalke appear only as fifth best column two in the Bundesliga. Leipzig, who have not won the last two home games, is the fourth-fastest boss.
The breakdown of the tournament certainly came at a much better time for Leipzig. There was enough time for the team to try to get back on track and prepare to try to repeat the vice. It has technical conditions for this. It appears, therefore, as the best guessing option for this Saturday’s duel. It has a price of 2.00 in Rivalo. Draw promotes return of 3.50 and visitor success paid 3.80 per real invested.