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Friday night football in Bundesliga will see Schalke take on Mainz in what is expected to be a spectacular encounter between two quality, in-form teams.
Schalke (4th place) has simply exploded after the winter break, confidently winning all their 4 games and against very tough opposition (Hamburg, Wolfsburg, Hannover, Leverkusen). The Gelsenkirchen side continued its excellent attacking play, scoring at least 2 times in each of the 4 wins, but got tighter at the back, allowing just 2 goals. Huntelaar is finally healthy again and back in the starting lineup for Schalke. The hosts will try to achieve 5 wins in 5 games after the winter break for the first time in 12 years, but Mainz will be no pushovers.
The visitors are in great form themselves, winning 4 of their last 5 matches and 3 out of 4 after the winter break. Mainz recorded a solid 2-0 home win against Hannover last round after falling to Wolfsburg 3-0 in a disappointing performace to end a winning run. Mainz is currently on the 7th place and the visitors look good value for their money to catch an european placement at the end of the season.
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Team news and lineups
Schalke will miss Hoger, Aogo, Clemens Uchida and Kirchhoff, but the hosts will get superstar winger Draxler back to go with Huntelaar`s recent recovery. Mainz has Park doubtful, while Schahin and Baumgartlinger are definitely out.
Schalke 04: Fährmann – Höwedes, Felipe Santana, Matip, Kolasinac – K.-P. Boateng, Neustädter – Farfan, Meyer, Draxler – Huntelaar
1.FSV Mainz: Karius – Pospech, Bell, Noveski, Junior Diaz – Geis – Moritz, Malli – Koo – N. Müller, Okazaki
Schalke and Mainz are both high scoring teams and I initially thought to go with the over 2,5 goals bet here, but I`m ending up backing Schalke to win. Mainz is a decent team in good form, but the visitors have lost 5 of their 10 road matches in Bundesliga this season and their last performance away from home was awful in the 0-3 defeat to Wolfsburg. Schalke is playing excellent football right now, they upgraded their defense, they got Huntelaar back and Draxler will also return for this game. It`s one of the few times this season when Schalke has all its stars healthy and ready to go. I expect a solid performance from both sides but Schalke is stronger, in better form, has the home court advantage and has eaten bigger fish than Mainz in the last few rounds. The hosts don`t look like dropping points right now at the Veltins Arena and are desperate to keep the 4th place they worked so much to gain this winter, so my tip for this one is Schalke to win. Prediction: Schalke 04 – 1.FSV Mainz 2-1.
Pick: Schalke 04
Odds: 1.70 @ Ladbrokes
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 5.60
Event date: 21 February
