German Bundesliga
2010-05-01 - Schalke 04 vs Werder Bremen
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Football : Germany : Bundesliga
Veltins Arena
Saturday, 01st May 2010 – kickoff 15:30
Schalke 04
Schalke 04 can only hope to win the last two matches and Bayern Munich must to slip up in order for them to claim the title. However, this has been a great first year for the coach Felix Magath in charge as he has set a goal to himself to make Schalke 04 champions in period of four years, and he is very close to do so in his first year as a coach of this team.
They have already claimed the second place and will play in the Champions league next season. Also, last week they have signed a three year contract starting from next season with the veteran defender from Real Madrid - Christoph Metzelder who will strengthen Schalke 04`s defense even more.
Good news for the team is that coach Magath has his full squad available for selection except for the long time injured Jermaine Jones.
The team will play once again with three strikers-Farfan, Kuranyi and Edu. Ivan Rakitic is expected to get more defensive role in the midfield and depending on the situation on the pitch the formation might change with five defenders at the back line. Schalke 04 prior this match are holding the league's best defense with 29 goals conceded.
Probable Schalke 04 line-up :
Rafinha , Höwedes , Bordon , Westermann ,
Matip,Kluge , Rakitic ,
Farfan , Kuranyi , Edu
Werder Bremen
This will be a very important match for Werder Bremen as well as they are in race for the third place and in order to keep it they must win the remaining matches.
Werder Bremen have been very strong the last couple of months. They have lost only one of their last twelve matches (nine wins, two draws). The teams also have the best offense in the league with 68 goals scored so far and they have also scored in each of their last 14 matches.
Coach Thomas Schaaf also has his full squad available for selection. The midfielder Aaron Hunt complained to a minor muscle problem last week but is expected to start this match. After serving his one match yellow cards suspension Tim Borowski is back in the squad.
Probable Werder Bremen line-up :
Fritz, Mertesacker , Naldo , Pasanen ,
Frings, Bargfrede ,
Marin, Özil , Hunt ,
Pizarro
The Betting Verdict
The first match between the sides ended in 2-0 victory for Schalke 04. Interesting fact is that Schalke 04 have lost only one of their last ten Bundesliga matchups against Werder Bremen (6 wins and 3 draws).
The last time Werder Bremen have won in Gelsenkirchen dates back to year 2001 when they won 4-1. Since then they have lost four times and drew three times when playing at Schalke 04`s home ground.
This is the derby of the round and it will be a great match to watch as both teams have great individuals. Both teams have two of the three best Bundesliga strikers. Kevin Kuranyi has scored 18 times for Schalke 04 this season and Claudio Pizarro has 15 goals behind his name for Werder Bremen.
Both teams need points and are under pressure to get a positive result from this match. A draw would not do well for any of the teams so I think both will go out to get a win. Schalke 04 have the tradition on their side but Werder Bremen have been really strong these last couple of months.
I expect an open match with a few goals so it`s probably better to bet on goals rather on a straight win because anything can happen in a derby match like this.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Schalke 2-1 Werder Bremen
