Schalke 04-Bayer Leverkusen Preview Match : German Bundesliga 2011/2012

March 24, 2012 5:30 PM GMT
Veltins-Arena — Gelsenkirchen

Team News

Schalke 04

With Lars Unnerstall injured, Timo Hildebrand will start in goal once again. With Benedikt Höwedes injured, Atsuto Uchida will probably start at right-back. Christoph Metzelder still in injury. Manager Stevens could field an unchanged team.

probable lineups : Hildebrand, Fuchs, Matip, Papadopaulos, Uchida, Jones, Holtby, Draxler, Raúl, Farfán, Huntelaar. (4-2-3-1).

18 Mar 2012     Kaiserslautern 1 - FC Schalke 04 4

15 Mar 2012     FC Schalke 04 4 - FC Twente 1 

11 Mar 2012     FC Schalke 04 3 - Hamburger SV 1 

8 Mar 2012       FC Twente 1 - FC Schalke 04 0 

3 Mar 2012       SC Freiburg 2 - FC Schalke 04 1 

Bayer Leverkusen

Manager Dutt could field a 4-2-3-1 system again, with Stefan Kießling playing much of the game up front on his own. Vedran Corluka is still injured and could be replaced by Danny da Costa. Simon Rolfes could replace the injured Lars Bender in defensive midfield.

17 Mar 2012        Bayer Leverkusen 1 - B. Mönchengladbach 2 

10 Mar 2012       VfL Wolfsburg 3 - Bayer Leverkusen 2 

7 Mar 2012          Barcelona 7 - Bayer Leverkusen 1 

3 Mar 2012         Bayer Leverkusen 2 - FC Bayern München 0 

Head to Head
23 Oct 2011          Bayer Leverkusen 0 - FC Schalke 04 1
20 Mar 2011        Bayer Leverkusen 2 - FC Schalke 04 0
30 Oct 2010          FC Schalke 04 0 - Bayer Leverkusen 1
27 Mar 2010        Bayer Leverkusen 0 - FC Schalke 04 2
31 Oct 2009          FC Schalke 04 2 - Bayer Leverkusen 2   

Prediction

After two losses, Schalke are back on track with two wins in a row. They are fourth in the table, ten points ahead of Leverkusen. Leverkusen have to improve again after two losses in a row. They could start a last gasp attempt to challenge for a Champions League spot in this game, but a win would be a must then.

Expect Leverkusen to dominate possession and Schalke to rely on their quick counter-attacks and very good chance conversion rate. 

Schalke 04  1 - 1  Bayer Leverkusen