German Bundesliga
2026-10-24 - Koln vs Schalke 04
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Football; Germany: Bundesliga
Rhein Energie Stadion – Köln
Saturday, 24th October 2026 - kickoff 15:30 CET
Köln
Köln head into this game after a 1-0 defeat away to Eintracht Frankfurt, following a 2-1 home win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. Their home form gives them reason to be confident: Köln remained unbeaten in all three, collecting seven points from their first three home matches before this weekend.
The bigger problem ahead of this game is the absence of a few strikers. Thijs Dallinga remains out with a knee injury, Imad Rondic has a muscle problem, and Ragnar Ache has only recently returned to partial training.
Ache could give René Wagner another option, but his availability for Saturday is still questionable. Defender Joël Schmied is also expected to miss out after injuring his ankle against Frankfurt.
Schalke 04
Schalke 04 have lost their last two matches, going down 2-1 away to SC Freiburg before a 0-1 home defeat to Mainz. Those results leave Miron Muslic's side needing a response, because before those two defeats they played two goalless draws against Bayern Munich and SV Elversberg, and beat Union Berlin away.
Schalke 04’s main issue so far is lack of attacking punch. They have scored just 4 goals in six Bundesliga games, the worst scoring record of all teams, with three of those goals coming against Union Berlin.
As for absentees, attacker Dejan Ljubicic is recovering from a knee injury, while Timo Becker returned to team training earlier this month. Schalke 04 will need more threat in the final third to take advantage of Köln's defensive absences.
The Betting Verdict
Köln looks like the better betting option, mainly because they have been much more reliable at home, where they are unbeaten in three games.
Schalke 04 have lost two straight games and failed to score in 4 of their 6 Bundesliga games so far, so the hosts have the edge for me.
Back Köln to win at valuable odds around evens.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Köln 1-0 Schalke 04
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Köln to win at odds of 2.03 at Cloudbet
