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Wolfsburg are set to play host to Schalke at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday for their latest Bundesliga game.
Wolfsburg come into this game on the back of a 2-1 loss to Sebastian Hoeness' Hoffenheim last Saturday at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena. First-half goals from young Austrian midfielder Christoph Baumgartner and Croatian forward Andrej Kramaric secured the win for Hoffenheim.
Dutch striker Wout Weghorst scored the consolation goal for Wolfsburg, who had Brazilian left-back Paulo Otavio sent off late in the second-half.
Schalke, on the other hand, drew 0-0 against Bo Svensson's Mainz last Saturday at the Veltins-Arena. Both sides mustered two shots on target, and continue to occupy the last two positions in the Bundesliga table.
Wolfsburg vs Schalke Head-to-Head
In 31 head-to-head encounters between the two sides, the record is exactly even. Wolfsburg have won 12 games, lost 12 and drawn seven.
The two clubs last faced each other last month in the third round of the DFB-Pokal, with Wolfsburg beating Schalke 1-0. A first-half goal from Netherlands international Wout Weghorst ensured victory for Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg form guide in the Bundesliga: L-W-W-D-W
Schalke form guide in the Bundesliga: D-L-L-D-L
Wolfsburg vs Schalke Team News
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg manager Oliver Glasner will be unable to call upon the services of Swiss forward Renato Steffen, while there are doubts over the availability of French left-back Jerome Roussillon. Brazilian left-back Paulo Otavio, young French centre-back Maxence Lacroix and Austria international Xaver Schlager are all suspended.
Injured: Renato Steffen
Doubtful: Jerome Roussillon
Suspended: Xaver Schlager, Paulo Otavio, Maxence Lacroix
Schalke
Meanwhile, Schalke have a few injury concerns. Veteran Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann, young defender Kilian Ludewig, Serbian centre-back Matija Nastasic, striker Steven Skrzybski, Algeria international Nabil Bentaleb, forward Mark Uth, young midfielder Nassim Boujellab and centre-back Salif Sane are all out.
There are doubts over the availability of Portuguese forward Goncalo Pacienca and midfielder Amine Harit, while Spanish midfielder Omar Mascarell is suspended.
Injured: Ralf Fahrmann, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Nassim Boujellab, Salif Sane, Mark Uth, Steven Skrzybski, Matija Nastasic, Nabil Bentaleb, Kilian Ludewig
Doubtful: Goncalo Pacienca, Amine Harit
Suspended: Omar Mascarell
Wolfsburg vs Schalke Predicted XI
Wolfsburg Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Koen Casteels, Josuha Guilavogui, Tim Siersleben, John Brooks, Kevin Mbabu, Maximilian Arnold, Ridle Baku, Admir Mehmedi, Maximilian Philipp, Josip Brekalo, Wout Weghorst
Schalke Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Frederik Ronnow, Timo Becker, Shkodran Mustafi, Malick Thiaw, Bastian Oczipka, Suat Serdar, Benjamin Stambouli, Sead Kolasinac, Can Bozdogan, Matthew Hoppe, Benito Raman
Wolfsburg vs Schalke Prediction
Wolfsburg are currently 3rd in the Bundesliga table, two points ahead of 4th-placed Eintracht Frankfurt. They have done well under the management of Oliver Glasner, with Dutch striker Wout Weghorst a crucial figure in attack.
Schalke, on the other hand, are rooted to the bottom of the league. They are nine points behind 16th-placed Arminia Bielefeld, and need a miracle now to escape relegation. Dimitrios Grammozis is their fifth manager of the season, and Schalke now have a tough rebuilding job on their hands.
Wolfsburg are in good form and should be able to triumph here.
Prediction: Wolfsburg 2-0 Schalke
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