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Two teams in totally different form will square off today in Gelsenkirchen.
Schalke (5th place) is on the back of a big time 1-0 win at Maribor which qualified them in the next stage of the Champions League. It was the third successive win for Schalke (also riding a 3 game winning streak in Bundesliga), so the hosts will be pumped up with confidence today, trusting that they have what it takes to defeat Koln in front of a packed stadium. Still a lot of injuries for Schalke, but it`s not like they are not used to it. Coach Di Matteo has asked for focus and I`m sure Schalke won`t get carried away by the Maribor win, they really need 3 points here in the race for a Top 4 finish.
Koln was looking pretty good early in the season but they have dropped to the 12th place in the standings on the back of some horrible form. The visitors are riding a three match losing streak, capped off by a disappointing 1-2 defeat at home to Augsburg last round. Koln has been surprisingly solid on the road this season (3 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses) considering that they are traditionally a home team.
Bet on Schalke 04 vs. FC Koln with the highest Bundesliga odds at Pinnacle Sports.
Team news & lineups:
Schalke will miss Draxler, Boateng, Goretzka, Obasi, Matip, Kolasinac and Farfan – all long term injuries, except for Boateng. Hoger returns and will start. The visitors have a full squad at their disposal with the exception of Patrick Helmes.
Schalke 04: Fahrmann – Howedes, Kirchoff, Neustadter – Uchida, Hoger, Aogo, Fuchs – Meyer, Huntelaar, Choupo-Moting
FC Koln: Horn – Olkowski, Maroh, Wimmer, Hector – Lehmann – Risse, Vogt, Gerhardt, Svento – Ujah
We know Schalke can be inconsistent, but it hasn`t been the case at home so far in the Bundesliga, where they have been super strong with 5 wins and 2 draws in 7 matches. I expect Schalke to put pressure on Koln and their excellent offensive setup should find it relatively easy to create changes against an abysmal Koln defense – the visitors allowed 12 goals in the last 4 games, 5 from Leverkusen in their last away match. My tip is Schalke to win, great odds on this bet. Prediction: Schalke 04 – FC Koln 2-0.
Pick: Schalke win
Odds: 1.88 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.04
Event date: 13 December
