Bayern Munich will encounter a reawakened Schalke 04 in their Bundesliga clash when the latter makes its away trip to the Allianz Arena this Saturday.
After springing back to life, the visitors would want to secure safety. The Bundesliga champions, meanwhile, are looking to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Bayern Munich remains one point clear of Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga table with 65 points. With three more games left in this campaign, the Bavarians would want to put the pressure back on the Black and Yellows.
Thomas Tuchel has barely met any expectations of the board, as after replacing Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern has dropped out of the UEFA Champions League and DFB Pokal rather underwhelmingly. FC Hollywood has earned three victories with one loss and a draw in their last five league games.
Without an 11th successive title, this season would still be considered a massive failure. Luckily for Tuchel, the Bavarians are yet to lose a Bundesliga game at home, having earned 35 points in 15 games with ten wins and five draws.
Schalke will take notice of Bayern's stress to gather every result, with their uncharacteristic falterings in recent times. Having spent a lot of time-fighting in the relegation zone, they have finally managed to escape the clutches of danger, winning three of their last five games with two losses.
Standing at 15th, the Royal Blues are two points safe. Thomas Reis will be hopeful to keep this rare momentum going when they make the trip to Munich. Crucial victories over relegation rivals Stuttgart and VfL Bochum somewhat salvaged their season, which was going downhill.
While Bayern likes to showcase their unreal firepower, Schalke has relied on their carved-out niche of playing with crosses and ariel long balls. Interestingly, the Miners have registered the most number of accurate crosses per match in the Bundesliga, with an average of 5.9.
The hosts will add another name of absentees, with defender Josip Stanišić joining Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Alphonso Davies, Dayot Upamecano, and Paul Wanner on the sidelines. As before, Lucas Hernandez and Manuel Neuer remain ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The visitors will lack services from Eder Balanta, Ralf Fahrmann, Justin Keekeren, Moritz Jenz, and Soichiro Kozuki for their injuries.
Football fans around the U.K. can catch every action live on Sky Sports Action.
Expert Insight: It's never fundamentally easy to steal points off Bayern, more when they have nothing else to play for. Though a thrashing seems unlikely, considering the visitors are not a pushover anymore with their recent results, one cannot rule out the dominance the hosts can play with. Schalke should be looking to minimize the damage here and prepare better for their subsequent games.
Bundesliga
UEFA Champions League