Schalke 04-TSG Hoffenheim
Veltins Arena
Saturday, 30th January 2010 – kickoff 18:30

Schalke 04

Schalke slipped in the last round when they blew two goal lead and are now three points behind the leaders at the third place.

Now they will face an opponent who is struggling recently which gives them opportunity to make up what they have lost in the last round.

Kevin Kuranyi is in excellent form having scored ten goals so far and four of those goals were scored in the last five matches. That makes him club`s best scorer and also challenges Stefan Kiessling from Bayer Leverkusen as a best scorer in the Bundesliga.

There were some changes in the team as they have sold the 26-year old striker Halil Altintop to Eintracht Frankfurt with immediate effect. He has scored 16 goals for Schalke but faced a tough competition in the squad so coach Magath decided to release him so he can have more chance to play elsewhere.

Coach Felix Magath will also have to do without the injured Christian Pander, Heiko Westermann, and Jermaine Jones.

TSG Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim sits in ninth place at the table with 25 points and have conceded five goals without scoring since the winter break. They are on a three game losing streak which makes their chances to get closer to the European spots very slim. Hoffenheim also have not won for seven consecutive matches.

Hoffenheim are without several key players at the moment. Matthias Jaissle, Demba Ba and Tobias Weis are injured while Chinedu Obasi and Isaac Vorsah are away at the Africa cup of nations.

Another blow for the team will be the absence of their experienced defensive player Josip Simunic who has picked up his fifth yellow card in the last round so he has to serve his one match suspension. His likely substitute will be Per Nilson.

The young 19-year old Brazilian playmaker Carlos Eduardo will be in charge of the midfield, but he is still inexperienced and this will be his second match for the club but Coach Ralf Rangnick does not have many options available to choose from.

The Betting Verdict

Although Schalke have not won in the last three matches against Hoffenheim, now the situation is different. Hoffenheim are in big trouble due to many absent players and their back line is terrible at the moment.

Schalke will push harder to make up for their (unexpected) draw against Bochum in the last round and Hoffenheim does not have many attacking options.

I think Coach Felix Magath has much more quality players at his disposal and deeper squad to choose from which makes Schalke 04 favorites and probable winners in this match.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Schalke 04-TSG Hoffenheim 2-0

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Home win for Schalke 04