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Schalke are set to play host to Mainz on Friday at the Veltins-Arena for their latest Bundesliga game.
Schalke come into this game on the back of a 5-1 loss to Pellegrino Matarazzo's Stuttgart last Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. A brace from Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo and goals from Austria international Sasa Kalajdzic, midfielder Philipp Klement and forward Daniel Didavi ensured victory for Stuttgart. Left-back Sead Kolasinac, on loan from Arsenal, scored the consolation goal for Schalke.
Mainz, on the other hand, lost 1-0 to Heiko Herrlich's Augsburg last Sunday at the Opel Arena. A first-half goal from German forward Andre Hahn sealed the deal for Augsburg.
Schalke vs Mainz Head-to-Head
In 26 head-to-head encounters between the two sides, Schalke hold the clear advantage. They have won 14 games, lost six and drawn six.
The two clubs last faced each other last year in the Bundesliga, with the game ending in a 2-2 draw. Goals from experienced right-back Daniel Brosinki and striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, now at Crystal Palace, for Mainz was cancelled out by a goal from Germany international Mark Uth and an own goal from Dutch centre-back Jerry St. Juste for Schalke.
Schalke form guide in the Bundesliga: L-L-D-L-D
Mainz form guide in the Bundesliga: L-W-D-W-L
Schalke vs Mainz Team News
Schalke
Schalke have a few injury concerns to deal with. Manager Dimitrios Grammozis will be unable to call upon the services of experienced goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann, veteran Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, right-back Kilian Ludewig, Serbian centre-back Matija Nastasic, Portuguese striker Goncalo Pacienca, Danish goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow, Senegalese centre-back Salif Sane, strikers Steven Skrzybski and Mark Uth and Morocco international Nassim Boujellab.
Injured: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Ralf Fahrmann, Kilian Ludewig, Matija Nastasic, Goncalo Pacienca, Frederik Ronnow, Salif Sane, Steven Skrzybski, Mark Uth, Nassim Boujellab
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Mainz
Meanwhile, Mainz will be without Switzerland international Edimilson Fernandes, while there are doubts over the availability of midfielder Dominik Kohr and Swedish forward Robin Quaison. Other than that there are no known issues and manager Bo Svensson is expected to have a fully fit squad at his disposal.
Injured: Edimilson Fernandes
Doubtful: Robin Quaison, Dominik Kohr
Suspended: None
Schalke vs Mainz Predicted XI
Schalke Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Michael Langer, Timo Becker, Shkodran Mustafi, Malick Thiaw, Sead Kolasinac, Benjamin Stambouli, Omar Mascarell, William, Suat Serdar, Amine Harit, Matthew Hoppe
Mainz Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Robin Zentner, Jerry St. Juste, Stefan Bell, Moussa Niakhate, Danny da Costa, Leandro Barreiro, Kevin Stoger, Philipp Mwene, Danny Latza, Adam Szalai, Karim Onisiwo
Schalke vs Mainz Prediction
Schalke sit at the bottom of the league table, and are in a state of crisis. They sacked Christian Gross, their fourth manager of the season, recently, and have appointed Dimitrios Grammozis in his place. They are nine points behind 16th-placed Arminia Bielefeld, who have a game in hand.
Mainz, on the other hand, are 17th in the league table, eight points ahead of Schalke. They have started getting results of late, but still have work to do in order to avoid the drop.
Schalke have endured a disastrous campaign, while Mainz have struggled to get going as well. A draw seems to be on the cards.
Prediction: Schalke 1-1 Mainz
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