Hoffenheim V Schalke
Sunday 20 October 2019 – 17:00 Kick-Off
German Bundesliga
Pick: Schalke DrawNoBet
Odds: 10/11
Bookmaker: Unibet
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33/20 | 5/2 | 33/20 |
* (All betting odds displayed were correct as of 17 October 2019 at 11:00)
Preview: The final fixture in the German Bundesliga for this weekend takes place in Hoffenheim, inside their PreZero Arena, where they have been beaten handsomely on their last two appearances. The visitors are an in-form Schalke, bidding to secure their third consecutive away league victory in front of the BT Sports cameras.
German Football Betting – 22Bet
Hoffenheim Preview – Will hosts build on Bayern scalp?
For a team which had found goals hard to come by in the early part of the season, to then travel to Bavaria and somehow not only score twice away to the champions but also beat them for good measure, well it came completely out of nowhere. Armenian winger Sargis Adamyan made himself a household name overnight with his brace in that encounter, as Hoffenheim (12th – W2 D2 L3, GF6 GA11) became the first team this season to inflict a loss on Bayern Munich.
To emphasis how shocking that latter triumph was, Hoffenheim were in the midst of a four-game sequence without winning in the Bundesliga (D2 L2). In actual fact, they had only managed one prior victory the whole season – when beating Werder Bremen 3-2 at home with a late winner at the end of August. The Bayern success was also extremely fortunate, with the hosts well on top when it came to Expected Goals (xG: BAY 2.15 – 0.72 HOF).
That Hoffenheim were incredibly efficient and clinical last time out also made for a rarity, as this side had failed to even score in four of its seven Bundesliga matches in 2019/20. The break for internationals has probably halted a lot of that winning momentum as well. Meanwhile a return home isn’t necessarily viewed as a positive, either, having lost their previous two home encounters 3-0 to Freiburg and then Borussia Monchengladbach.
Schalke Preview – Royal Blues to celebrate third consecutive away triumph?
To my sheer frustration, Schalke (6th – W4 D2 L1, GF14 GA7) would fail to capitalise on an opportunity to spend the period of the international break atop the German Bundesliga. All they needed to do was condemn second-from-bottom FC Koln to defeat at home but, despite leading as stoppage time approached courtesy of Suat Serdar’s solitary effort, were forced to settle for a share of the spoils after the concession of a very late leveller.
The draw last time out halted Schalke’s superb winning run, having previously recorded four successive victories in the league over Hertha Berlin (3-0), Paderborn (1-5), Mainz (2-1) and, the more impressive of the bunch, then-league leaders RB Leipzig (1-3). So this has still been a fabulous start to the campaign for The Royal Blues, who have shown some genuine early season promise under new manager David Wagner.
Reigning champs Bayern Munch are the only team to have beaten Wagner’s Schalke in 2019/20 thus far, which says a lot. Furthermore, away from home this team has been in seriously impressive form – long before Wagner even arrived, in fact – going their last seven such matches unbeaten (W4 D3). Midfielder Amine Harit has three goals in their previous two, at Paderborn and RB Leipzig, and is 3/1 with Bet365 to continue his away scoring streak.
Hoffenheim V Schalke Key Facts:
- Hoffenheim stunned the league champions in their last match, defeating Bayern Munich 2-1 away from home to secure only a second win of the season (W2 D2 L3).
- Schalke were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at home by FC Koln last time out but are, nonetheless, enjoying an encouraging start to the season (W4 D2 L1).
- Last season, Hoffenheim claimed four points from these meetings – winning 5-2 away but sharing the spoils at home with a 1-1 draw.
Betting Summary
Hoffenheim would claim the biggest scalp there is in Germany when defeating Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena two weeks ago. The international break probably came at an inconvenient moment for them, then. That was only a second league win of the season, for a team which has seriously struggled in front of goal – only FC Koln have notched fewer times in the Bundesliga – and has lost its past two home matches 3-0.
Schalke were held to a disappointing draw in their latest league encounter, held at home by struggling FC Koln. That was a game in which the better chances were created by them, however, so it wasn’t as though the performance had dipped. The team are still unbeaten in its last five league contests (W4 D1), a run which includes away victories at Paderborn and RB Leipzig.
The hosts have lost two on the spin at home, both convincingly as well, and have the worst process in the entire league according to Infogol. Meanwhile, Schalke arrive with wins in four of their last five matches, including two consecutively away from home. The visitors, therefore, are worth chancing DrawNoBet.
