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After dropping points at home to Holstein Kiel, Schalke will hope to bounce back to winning ways when they face Erzgebirge Aue in the 2. Bundesliga on Sunday.
The Royal Blues had to rely on a Simon Terodde strike to rescue a point against Kiel in their previous outing. They created several openings, but were denied by the away side.
Despite their draw, Schalke are still only two points behind third spot. Dimitrios Grammozis’ side need to quickly find some rhythm in their upcoming games.
Erzgebirge were in awful form heading into the winter break, but have begun the second half of the season on a positive note.
A 2-2 draw on their previous matchday against league leaders St. Pauli will give them some confidence heading into the clash against Schalke.
Erzgebirge are still five points away from safety and will hope to upset Schalke at home to close the gap on the teams above them in the battle for survival.
Erzgebirge Aue vs Schalke Head-to-head
The reverse game in the league is the only time the two teams have faced each other. Schalke led for nearly an hour, but were denied a winner through a late Sascha Hartel equalizer at the Veltins Arena.
Erzgebirge form guide: D-L-L-L-L
Schalke form guide: D-D-W-L-W
Erzgebirge Aue vs Schalke Team News
Erzgebirge Aue
Erzgebirge are expected to be without Gaetan Bussmann, Ramzi Ferjani, Florian Ballas, Ognjen Gnjatic and Soufiane Messeguem. The duo of Omar Sijaric and Anthony Barylla are ill and may not feature.
Injured: Gaetan Bussmann, Ramzi Ferjani, Florian Ballas, Ognjen Gnjatic, Soufiane Messeguem
Doubtful: Omar Sijaric, Anthony Barylla
Suspended: None
Schalke
Michael Langer and Mehmet Aydin are not expected to feature due to injury. Marcin Kaminski is still recovering from COVID-19 and remains unavailable.
Danny Latza is yet to be fully fit, so it’s unlikely Grammozis will use the midfielder from the onset come Saturday.
Injured: Michael Langer, Mehmet Aydin
Doubtful: Danny Latza
Unavailable: Marcin Kaminski
Suspended: None
Erzgebirge Aue vs Schalke Predicted Lineups
Erzgebirge Aue Probable XI (3-5-2): Martin Mannel; Dirk Carlson, Soren Gonther, Malcolm Cacutalua; Antonio Jonjic, Clemens Fandrich, Jan Hochscheidt, Ben Zolinski, John-Patrick Strauss; Nicolas Kühn, Prince Osei Owusu
Schalke Probable XI (3-1-4-2): Martin Fraisl; Mallick Thiaw, Ko Itakura, Salif Sane; Victor Palsson; Reinhold Ranftl, Rodrigo Zalazar, Blendi Idrizi, Thomas Ouwejan; Marius Bülter, Simon Terrode
Erzgebirge Aue vs Schalke Prediction
Erzgebirge have a woeful record in the league but tend to test teams at home. They have managed to score in seven out of their ten home games and will be a threat to Schalke after a much-needed winter break.
We expect a draw.
Score prediction: Erzgebirge Aue 2-2 Schalke
