Schalke 04 vs RB Leipzig 16/03/19

16 March 2019

Schalke 04 welcome RB Leipzig to the Veltins Arena hoping to bounce back after a humiliating 7-0 defeat to Manchester City in midweek’s Champions League clash.

The hosts are going through a nightmarish period that has seen them lose all five of their previous games across all competitions, allowing over 2.5 goals per match in each. Additionally, the MIners have failed to pick up all three points in seven consecutive outings (D1, L6), struggling to find the back of the net four times in that period. Domenico Tedesco can’t be happy with his team’s home performance either, given the fact, Schalke have secured just one triumph their last five games in Gelsenkirchen (W1, D1, L3), failing to get to the scoresheet three times during the run. Although four of their six Bundesliga victories have come at home, the Royal Blues have suffered seven defeats in 12 BL home meetings (W4, D1, L7), as only Hannover 96 (9) lost more home games so far.

Meanwhile, a promising seven-game Bundesliga unbeaten run (W4, D3) currently puts the visitors in the Champions League promotion zone, three points clear of fifth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt. The main reason for Leipzig’s recent success is the impressive rearguard that has preserved a clean slate in six of the Red Bull’s last eight games across all competitions, restricting their rivals to a maximum of one goal per match in the remaining two. However, Ralf Rangnick can’t be satisfied with his side’s attacking displays in the recent period, as the Bulls failed to net over 1.5 goals per match in five of their previous six competitive clashes. Nonetheless, Leipzig come into this encounter after racking up a four-game BL road winning run, during which they’ve scored 11 goals while conceding just one in the process.