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Schalke will face Holstein Kiel away from home in the 2. Bundesliga on Sunday and will hope to bounce back after their defeat on the opening matchday.
Dimitrios Grammozis’ side took the lead against Hamburg at home last Friday, but they invited the away side to attack them and fell apart in the second-half.
Die Konigsblauen will hope to muster a more cohesive defensive performance against Holstein Kiel, who were abject in their first game of the season.
Ole Werner’s side were well-beaten by St. Pauli on the opening matchday of the season, and know they will have to put in a better performance against Schalke.
Both teams will be aiming at promotion this season. Kiel narrowly missed out last season in the playoffs and Schalke were relegated from the Bundesliga.
Holstein Kiel vs Schalke Head-to-head
It’s been a while since the two teams last faced each other. In fact, they last squared off in 1962 in the DFB Pokal. Schalke won the game 4-3.
The two teams have faced each other just three times in their history, and Schalke have a 2-1 advantage.
There have been an incredible 18 goals scored in the three fixtures, and considering how poorly they defended last week, we could be in for another goal-fest!
Holstein Kiel form guide: L
Schalke form guide: L
Holstein Kiel vs Schalke Team News
Holstein Kiel
Marco Komenda suffered a long-term injury against St. Pauli, and will be out for a considerable amount of time. Ahmet Arslan and Timon Weiner are also unavailable.
The duo of Simon Lorenz and Johannes van den Bergh are doubtful. The latter has returned to training and could make the bench.
Injured: Marco Komenda, Ahmet Arslan, Timo Weiner
Doubtful: Johannes van den Bergh, Simon Lorenz
Schalke
Matthew Hoppe is currently participating in the Gold Cup for the USA and is unavailable.
Ralf Fahrmann is still isolating himself after testing positive for COVID-19, while Danny Latza picked up a nasty knee injury against Hamburg and has been ruled out. Rabbi Matondo and Salif Sane will also miss out due to knee issues.
Injured: Danny Latza, Rabbi Matondo, Salif Sane
Unavailable: Ralf Fahrmann, Matthew Hoppe
Holstein Kiel vs Schalke Predicted Lineups
Holstien Kiel Probable XI (4-3-3): Ioannis Gelios; Mikkel Kirkeskov, Simon Lorenz, Hauke Wahl, Phil Neumann; Patrick Erras, Alexander Muhling, Steven Skrzybski; Fin Bartels, Fabian Reese, Fiete Arp
Schalke Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Michael Langer; Marcin Kaminski, Timo Becker, Malick Thiaw; Thomas Ouwejan, Blendi Idrizi, Victor Palsson, Reinhold Ranftl; Marius Bulter, Simon Terodde
Holstein Kiel vs Schalke Prediction
Both teams need a positive result after they were comfortably beaten in their respective opening games of the season.
Schalke have the better team on paper and will start as favorites as they played well in patches against Hamburg. We expect a 2-1 win for Schalke come Sunday.
Score prediction: Holstein Kiel 1-2 Schalke
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