Crisis club Schalke 04 return to home comforts in the Bundesliga for the first time in 2023 when they host RB Leipzig at Veltins-Arena on Tuesday night.
The league's basement side suffered a 3-0 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt upon their return to competitive action, while Die Roten Bullen held Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw.
Match preview
The 2. Bundesliga is beckoning once again for Schalke, whose return to top-flight action following the winter break went about as expected, with Frankfurt running out comfortable winners despite finding themselves under some early pressure from Thomas Reis's men.
Jesper Lindstrom's effort with a quarter of the game gone quickly propelled the Europa League champions into the ascendancy, before Rafael Borre and Aurelio Buta got in on the act in the dying embers as Schalke picked up exactly where they left off.
As the only team in the division yet to hit double figures in the points column - collecting a mere nine from their 16 games this season - Schalke occupy last place in the Bundesliga table and are six adrift of the safety of 15th place before Augsburg play their game in hand against Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
Failure to win any of their six winter friendly matches hardly set Die Knappen up well for the return to competitive action, as defeat to Frankfurt made it nine losses from 10 for Schalke in the Bundesliga, with Reis trying yet failing to turn their fortunes around in his earliest days in the hotseat.
The 35 goals that Schalke have conceded does not make them the worst defensive team in the league - that accolade belongs to Bochum's 37 - but 13 goals at the correct end of the pitch is a division-low, and Reis's side have netted just once in their last four games at Veltins-Arena.
Over at the Red Bull Arena, there was much more for the Leipzig faithful to celebrate in their first Friday back since the winter break, as runaway leaders Bayern Munich were forced to settle for a point after being pegged back by Michael Rose's in-form charges.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's effort gave the perennial champions a one-goal advantage just before the break, but Marcel Halstenberg restored parity for Leipzig with just seven minutes gone in the second half, denying the Bavarians the chance to steer further clear at the top of the rankings.
Failure to send the champions home pointless did end a six-game winning run for Leipzig in all competitions, but Die Roten Bullen are firmly in the Champions League mix as they occupy fifth place in the standings - just one point worse off than Frankfurt, Freiburg and Union Berlin in the top four.
Now unbeaten in nine Bundesliga games since losing 3-0 to Borussia Monchengladbach in September, Leipzig are out to make it three away wins on the bounce in the top flight this week, but their dismal fortunes on the road earlier this term means that the visitors are without a clean sheet on rival turf since April.
However, Die Roten Bullen have eased to victory in their last three clashes with Schalke by an aggregate score of 12-0, including a resounding 3-0 success when the two sides last locked horns at Veltins-Arena in the 2020-21 campaign.
Team News
Schalke's hopes of victory against Frankfurt were not exactly high anyway, but the absence of top assister Dominick Drexler following a recent bout of COVID-19 did not help either, although the 32-year-old could potentially make a welcome return here.
Die Knappen remain without a host of players through injury, though, as Sepp van den Berg, Alex Kral, Thomas Ouwejan, Justin Heekeren, Sebastian Polter, Niklas Tauer and Rodrigo Zalazar all missed the clash with Frankfurt.
Marcin Kaminski remains a doubt due to illness but should have a strong chance of coming back for Henning Matriciani at the back, while Jordan Larsson's place could be at risk if Drexler is fit to return.
As for Leipzig, Abdou Diallo was fit enough for a place on the bench against Bayern after recovering from a knee injury, leaving Peter Gulacsi (ACL) and Christopher Nkunku (knee) as the visitors' only two absentees for this contest.
Konrad Laimer completed the full 90 minutes against Bayern as a move to the Bavarians inches ever closer, although he remains an important part of Rose's plans ahead of a summer switch to the champions.
Despite his goal on Friday, Halstenberg's spot will come under threat from a refreshed David Raum, while Benjamin Henrichs trained individually before the meeting with Bayern but should also be in contention for this one.
Rose has also hinted that Timo Werner may soon be ready for a starting role, but Forsberg will not give up his place in the XI without a fight.
Schalke 04 possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Brunner, Yoshida, Matriciani, Uronen; Krauss, Latza; Kozuki, Drexler, Bulter; Terodde
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Simakan, Orban, Gvardiol, Raum; Laimer, Schlager; Szoboszlai, Forsberg, Olmo; Silva
We say: Schalke 04 0-3 RB Leipzig
History does not always repeat itself in football, but Leipzig have posted a trio of goal-laden successes versus Schalke with clean sheets in tow recently and should make lightning strike for a fourth time here.
Die Roten Bullen have struggled for inspiration and defensive resilience away from home all season long, but Rose's side have seemingly turned a corner on their travels and should have no problem deepening Schalke's demotion woes here.
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