Schalke v Nuernberg: Bundesliga
Veltins Arena will see home side, Schalke, host in-form, Nuernberg, and they would be looking to stop Nurnberg’s excellent run of results of late.
Last week, Schalke were leading 1-0 against Borussia Monchengladbach but they fell apart in the second half and lost 2-1. German international goalkeeper, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Manuel-Neuer-c23424, criticized coach, Felix Magath, in the aftermath and it seems that his future is now
pretty uncertain.
Schalke will need to win the game tonight if they are to have any chances of qualifying for Europe next season but they will have to do all this without the services of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Christian-Pander-c9111, Kyriakos
Papadopoulos, who will miss the game due to injury.
Nurnberg will be looking to make it 5 wins out of 5 games. The Bavarians are at 8th in the Bundesliga standings and are very safe from relegation troubles. Heading into tonight’s game, Nurnberg, will be very confident and will be looking to put
manager, Felix Magath’s, side under even more pressure by inflicting a second straight loss on them.
While talking to the media, coach, Dieter Hecking, said "We want to remain unbeaten, get more points and use the positive attention we are receiving to do a bit of advertising for our club''.
The last time the two sides met was a month ago in the DFB Pokal and Schalke beat Nurnberg 3-2 to make it to the semi-finals of the German Cup.
However, Hecking believes that the loss will make no difference in the outcome of tonight’s game. Nurnberg are currently 6 points ahead of Schalke, who are in 10th place so they will have a great advantage heading into this game.
Last Friday, Nurnberg beat Frankfurt 3-0 and are definitely out of the relegation fight owing to the fact that they have picked up 12 points in 4 games. Coveted starlet, Ilkay Guendogan, and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mehmet-Ekici-c25163 have been great for Nurnberg all season and their
presence has made the side even stronger.
However, Guendogan is unfit for tonight’s game and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mike-Frantz-c25697 are also unavailable. Almog Cohen picked up his fifth yellow card last week and he will also miss the game.
Head to head
Schalke
At home, Schalke have won 3 of the last 5 games. They have won their last 2 home games so they will be looking to make it 3 wins in a row at home. Schalke have just 29 points in the table so far so they should start picking up maximum points at home as the
current haul of points can be a hazard if teams below them start picking up points.
Nurnberg
Nurnberg have been excellent of late but they have been pretty modest in their last 5 away games. They have just won one game in their last 5 outings but judging by the excellent run they are onto currently, they are in a good position to beat Schalke away
from home this time.
The quarterfinal exit at the hands of Schalke in the DFB Pokal may also serve as an extra driving factor for the away side to come out with 3 points.
Prediction
Schalke have struggled so far this season and Nurnberg will find it easy to beat Felix Magath’s side.
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