Nurnberg vs Schalke 04 13/04/19

13 April 2019

Nurnberg and Schalke 04 go head-to-head at the Max-Morlock-Stadion in a fixture that sees two sides battling it out for the Bundesliga survival.

Nurnberg’s tally of three wins after 28 BL fixtures is the league’s joint-worst, as they currently sit eight points adrift of BL safety with six rounds left to go. Interestingly, all three of Der Club’s league victories have come at home, and all have seen them beating teams placed in the bottom half of the table. Although they come into this meeting after securing four points in their last two league clashes, the hosts have to halt a four-game winless run against Schalke in H2Hs (D1, L3) to keep their hopes of pulling off a top-flight survival alive. Although just three teams have shipped more goals than Nurnberg (53) this term, just 16 of those conceded goals have arrived at home (30.19%). Boris Schommers’ main worry ahead of this clash could be Nurnberg’s struggling in the final third that has seen them scored 14 goals in as many BL home games this campaign.

Meanwhile, a disastrous haul of three points from their last six league outings (W1, L5) has put the visitors in an awkward position, as they currently sit only five points away from the relegation territory. Although Die Königsblauen started 2019 off on the right foot – securing a 2-1 home win over Wolfsburg, it was just one of two BL wins in they’ve picked up in 11 league games after the Christmas break (W2, D2, L7). What’s more, a narrow 1-0 away win over dead-last Hannover was Schalke’s only road win in 2019 across all competitions, and it was also the first time they’ve managed to keep a clean sheet away from home since a goalless draw with RB Leipzig back in October. Another Die Knappen’s problem concerns the mediocre displays in the final third that have seen them scored one goal or less in five of their last six road trips across all competitions.