Schalke 04 require all three points against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga's Saturday evening kickoff if they are to have any chance of moving outside of the bottom three.

Werder Bremen, meanwhile, returned to winning ways last time out against rock-bottom Hertha Berlin.

Match preview

Schalke, meanwhile, were beaten without scoring for the third time in their last four matches, as they fell to a thumping 4-0 defeat away to Champions League qualification-chasing Freiburg.

Michael Gregoritsch's first-half brace put the hosts firmly in the box seat before Lucas Holer and Matthias Ginter made sure of their side's victory with strikes after the break, leaving Schalke still three points adrift of safety.

However, their superior goal difference compared to VfL Bochum - who occupy 15th position heading into the weekend's action - means that, should league leaders Borussia Dortmund beat Bochum as expected on Friday evening, Schalke may have the chance to move out of the bottom three by beating Werder Bremen this weekend.

That would also rely on Stuttgart failing to beat Borussia Monchengladbach, though, which feels a relatively tall order considering Die Schwaben's recent improvement under Sebastian Hoeness, as well as Daniel Farke's side's wretched away form all season.

Ultimately, Schalke can only focus on themselves, with their home match against Werder Bremen undoubtedly representing their best chance of returning to winning ways considering that Thomas Reis's side's final four fixtures are all against top half sides.

After only managing to win one of their previous nine matches, Werder Bremen demonstrated that they are not yet on the beach for the summer by defeating Hertha Berlin 4-2 at the Olympiastadion last time out.

Despite missing their top goalscorer Niclas Fullkrug for the second successive matchday, Ole Werner's side showed that they are far more than a one-trick pony, with Marvin Ducksch bagging a hat-trick before Mitchell Weiser smashed the visitors 4-0 ahead only three minutes after the hour mark.

Jessic Ngankam and Dodi Lukebakio made the scoreline more respectable for the division's worst team so far this season, but Die Werderaner stood firm late on to claim all three points and signify their safety from any lingering fears of relegation.

Having only been promoted as runners-up last season, never even being close to any realistic relegation danger throughout the campaign represents a major achievement for Werner and his players, who will be fighting to finish as high as 10th during the closing weeks of the season.

Team News

Schalke's injury list has grown once again in recent times, with Eder Balanta, Tim Skarke, Cedric Brunner, Ralf Fahrmann, Soichiro Kozuki, Sebastian Polter and Justin Heekeren all set to miss Saturday's crucial fixture.

As such, Reis has very few options in terms of shaking things up despite being heavily beaten in their last match, but Rodrigo Zalazar could replace Kenan Karaman in midfield.

Werder Bremen, meanwhile, will hope to welcome Fullkrug back to their starting XI after the Germany striker was an unused substitute against Hertha last time out. He has missed his side's last two fixtures due to a minor calf issue but will be keen to add to his 16 league goals and counting so far this season.

Maximilian Philipp, who joined on loan from Wolfsburg during the January transfer window, will make way for Werder's top goalscorer should he be passed fit, with Werner unlikely to make any other alterations after winning in emphatic style last time out.

Schalke 04 possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Matriciani, Yoshida, Jenz, Uronen; Kral, Krauss; Drexler, Zalazar, Bulter; Terodde

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Pavlenka; Veljkovic, Stark, Friedl; Weiser, Bittencourt, Gross, Stage, Jung; Fullkrug, Ducksch

We say: Schalke 04 1-3 Werder Bremen

Although Schalke's urgency to put more points on the board is clearly far greater than Werder Bremen's, we can envisage the visitors claiming a second successive away victory against relegation strugglers.

Having put four goals past Hertha without their top goalscorer even entering the pitch, they will feel supremely confident of achieving similar against Schalke, who conceded that exact amount last week. The hosts look doomed to a second relegation in three seasons.

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