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After a shock defeat against 1860 Munich in the second round of the DFB Pokal, Schalke will hope to bounce back to winning ways when they face Heidenheim on Friday.
The Royal Blues have been in good form in the 2. Bundesliga, and will hope that the defeat on Tuesday was a one-off as they fielded a fairly strong team.
Promotion to the Bundesliga remains a priority for Dimitrios Grammozis’ side, so they won’t lose too much sleep over their defeat at the hands of 1860 Munich.
The hosts, Heidenheim, have not been in a good run of form lately. They have lost their last three games in a row, which has seen them drop to 11th in the league table.
Heidenheim are not far away from the promotion places as it’s still early days, and will hope to pick up a morale-boosting win over one of the better sides in the division.
Heidenheim vs Schalke Head-to-head
The two sides have never faced off, so expect an intriguing clash ahead. Schalke have been good travelers this season, having won four and lost just one of their five away games.
They will hope to keep their good away form and keep the pressure on the two sides above them in the league table.
Heidenheim form guide: L-L-L-W-W
Schalke form guide: L-W-W-W-W
Heidenheim vs Schalke Team News
Heidenheim
Apart from Gianni Mollo, Franck Schmidt has a fully fit squad to choose from come Friday.
Injured: Gianni Mollo
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Schalke
Malick Thiaw was sent off against 1860 Munich, but he should be available for the clash against Heidenheim.
Dominik Drexler is still doubtful as he recovers from a flesh wound suffered against Dresden. Michael Langer, Dries Wouters and Salif Sane are not expected to feature.
Injured: Michael Langer, Dries Wouters, Salif Sane
Doubtful: Dominik Drexler
Suspended: None
Heidenheim vs Schalke Predicted Lineups
Heidenheim Probable XI (3-4-1-2): Kevin Müller; Patrick Mainka, Norman Theuerkauf, Oliver Hüsing; Dzenis Burnic, Jan Schöppner, Tobias Mohr, Marvin Rittmüller; Robert Leipertz; Tim Kleindienst, Stefan Schimmer
Schalke Probable XI (3-1-4-2): Martin Fraisl; Marcin Kaminski, Mallick Thiaw, Ko Itakura; Victor Palsson; Thomas Ouwejan, Rodrigo Zalazar, Yaroslav Mikhailov, Reinhold Ranftl; Marius Bulter, Simon Terodde
Heidenheim vs Schalke Prediction
Schalke rested their most important player against 1860 Munich, and struggled to put the ball in the back of the net. Simon Terodde is expected to return to the lineup against Heidenheim and could make all the difference.
Score prediction: Heidenheim 1-2 Schalke
