German Bundesliga
2018-12-15 - Augsburg vs Schalke 04
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Football ; Germany : Bundesliga
WWK Arena – Augsburg
Saturday, 15th December 2018 - kickoff 15:30 CET
Augsburg
Augsburg are in terrible form at the moment, losing each of their last four Bundesliga games against TSG Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt, Vfb Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen. Those four losses saw them drop dangerously close to the relegation places and they will likely drop among the bottom three teams if they lose this match.
Augsburg have a limited squad and a very short bench, which is one of the reasons why they are under-performing. They missed some important players through injury and do not have much attacking options in the team. Icelandic striker Alfred Finnbogason is their top scorer with 7 goals scored, but he plays on and off, constantly struggling with injuries.
Augsburg are not very convincing home team this season. Matter of fact, they are second-worst home team in the Bundesliga, managing only one home victory against SC Freiburg since the start of the season.
Schalke 04
Schalke 04 are not much better than Augsburg this season, constantly struggling in the bottom part of the table. Last weekend they lost the derby game against Borussia Dortmund with 1-2 and remained just 3 points above relegation playoff spot.
Schalke 04 improved their shaken confidence a bit during midweek, after beating Lokomotiv Moskva with 1-0 in their last group game of the Champions League. They will look to build on that victory and their recent record against Augsburg has been pretty good. Schalke 04 have remained unbeaten in 5 of their last 6 trips to Augsburg.
In this match Schalke 04 will play without their centre-back Matija Nastasic who is suspended.
The Betting Verdict
Augsburg played very bad football in the recent weeks, while Schalke 04 are showing some small signs of improvement.
Schalke 04 were unfortunate with many injuries of key players this season, which is one of the reasons for their slump. Their coach Domenico Tedesco is simply forced to experiment with players and use them on many different positions. For example, American International Weston McKennie so far has played as left-back, defensive midfielder and even as striker for Schalke 04 in the last match.
Schalke 04 are a bit better side than Augsburg overall and their recent record is good against them. I believe Schalke 04 are closer to winning this match, but would back them on safer double chance bet not to lose.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Augsburg 0-1 Schalke 04
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take a double chance bet on Schalke 04 to win or draw (X2) at odds of 1.53 with Bet365
