Promotion hopefuls Schalke have a tricky test away at Karlsruher on Saturday as they look to climb further up the table
The race for promotion is intense in the 2. Bundesliga, as the top six teams are separated by just four points.
Schalke beat Paderborn in their last outing to bounce back from the defeat on the preceding matchday to remain just two points behind Werder Bremen.
Knowing that the top two in the league — Werder Bremen and Hamburg – will face off on Sunday, Schalke will want to pick up the win to close the gap on the teams above them.
Schalke’s opponents, Karlsruher, have done well to arrest the slide after the winter break. After losing two games in a row, Karlsruher have won their last two outings to stay in the top 10.
Promotion is still not a step too far for Karlsruher, as they are nine points behind the playoff spot with 11 games still to play.
Karlsruher vs Schalke Head-to-head
The head-to-head record between the two teams is not heavily one-sided. While Schalke have won the fixture 19 times, Karlsruher have picked up 14 wins against the Royal Blues. The fixture has ended all square as many as 17 times.
Karlsruher beat Schalke at Gelsenkirchen in the reverse fixture, so Dimitrios Grammozis’ side will have revenge on their minds.
Karlsruher form guide: W-L-L-W-W
Schalke form guide: D-W-W-L-W
Karlsruher vs Schalke Team News
Karlsruher
Karlsruher are expected to be without the quartet of Sebastian Jung, Lazar Mirkovic, Leon Jensen, and Paul Löhr.
Injured: Sebastian Jung, Lazar Mirkovic, Leon Jensen, Paul Löhr
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Schalke
Danny Latza, Mehmet Aydin, Michael Langer and Andreas Vindheim are not expected to feature. Dominik Drexler has recovered from his COVID-19 infection and could make the squad.
Injured: Danny Latza, Mehmet Aydin, Michael Langer, Andreas Vindheim
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Karlsruher vs Schalke Predicted Lineups
Karlsruher Probable XI (4-4-2): Marius Gersbeck; Philip Heise, Daniel O’Shaughnessy, Christopher Kobald, Marco Thiede; Tim Breithaupt, Jerome Gondorf; Marvin Wazitnek, Benjamin Goller, Kyoung-rok Choi; Philipp Hofmann
Schalke Probable XI (3-5-2): Martin Fraisl; Mallick Thiaw, Ko Itakura, Marcin Kaminski; Florian Flick, Rodrigo Zalazar, Blendi Idrizi, Thomas Ouwejan, Darko Churlinov; Marius Bulter, Simon Terrode
Karlsruher vs Schalke Prediction
Both teams have been in a good rhythm recently, but we expect Schalke to pick up another hard-fought away win and boost their promotion hopes.
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Prediction: Karlsruher 1-2 Schalke
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