Schalke vs Augsburg
Schalke vs Augsburg Sunday 11th April 2021 – 14:30 (BT Sport)
German Bundesliga
Pick: Schalke Draw No Bet
Odds: 11/8
Bookmaker: BetVictor
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 8th April 2021)
Preview: Time, and more importantly games, are running out for Schalke to somehow stage the most unlikeliest of recoveries. However three points from Sunday’s visit from Augsburg, who are by no means assured of their own survival, would represent a very small step on their long road to redemption.
German Bundesliga Betting at Bet365
Table of Contents
Schalke – Royal Blues trying in vain to delay the inevitable?
A first Bundesliga goal in 1,441 days for the returning Klaas Jan Huntelaar, currently on loan until the end of the season from Ajax, was not enough for Schalke (W1 D7 L19) to avoid a nineteenth league defeat of a wretched season that leaves them fourteen points adrift of safety at the foot of the table. Last week’s 2-1 loss away to Bayer Leverkusen the third in four games overseen by new head coach Dimitrios Grammozis.
So far a goalless draw with Mainz, here at Veltins Arena at the beginning of March, is the grand sum of their efforts under fresh management. Chastening 5-0 and 3-0 losses, away to Wolfsburg and here to Monchengladbach, acting as a baptism of fire for the new man at the helm whose task it is will be to mould this team into one capable of bouncing straight back up from the second division next term.
Despite another demoralising defeat, there were positives to be had last time. That late consolation being the first goal of the Grammozis era, while they had chances to potentially add to Huntelaar’s solitary strike (LEV 0.88 – 1.22 SCH). The numbers tell a stark story, though. The Royal Blues now winless in twelve (D3 L9) having failed to even muster a goal across their past five Bundesliga outings on home soil.
Augsburg – Resurgent at home but hapless away?
With seven games to go boasting a seemingly healthy buffer of nine points on those teams languishing in the Bundesliga’s relegation places, it would require something fairly extraordinary were Augsburg (W9 D5 L13) to be demoted from a position of such comfort. In fact, their current tally of 32 points would have been sufficient to avoid the drop in each of the last two seasons – but not the four before that!
So while there is every reason to be optimistic about the prospect of extending their Bundesliga stay into an eleventh straight term, the likelihood is that a few more points are needed before anybody can rest easy. It makes Sunday’s visit to bottom club Schalke all the more crucial, with maximum points a strong possibility against the side which has lost more than two thirds of its Bundesliga fixtures in 2020-21.
Three points are far from a formality though. Last week’s slender victory at home to Hoffenheim may have been their third success in five (L2), however, it has been on their travels where Heiko Herrlich’s men have encountered problems. A 2-0 loss at Freiburg on their most recent away outing represented a fifth away defeat in six, while they’ve not managed back-to-back victories since the opening two matchdays.
Don’t miss out on other Betting Tips & Predictions
Click here for more Betting Tips
Schalke vs Augsburg Betting Advice
It would go down as the greatest of great escape were bottom club Schalke to claw back a fourteen point deficit with only seven rounds remaining. This is one of their easiest remaining assignments though. Augsburg arrive in reasonable form, with three wins in five, but don’t tend to travel well having slumped to five defeats in their previous six away Bundesliga matches – conceding at least twice in each loss.
Schalke vs Augsburg – Key Facts:
- Despite their woes this term, Schalke‘s prospects of a second Bundesliga win in 2020-21 look promising. They’ve lost only one of their previous ten league meetings (W4 D5) with Augsburg.
- The Royal Blues must end a miserable run of five consecutive home Bundesliga games without a goal, though, if they are to record a rare victory on Sunday.
- That shouldn’t be all that difficult against an opponent in Augsburg, a team that has shipped two or more in five of their past six away Bundesliga matches (W1 L5).
Schalke produced an encouraging performance last time out, albeit it was against a Leverkusen outfit whose own form has fallen off a cliff in 2021. Nevertheless, that was the first time the Royal Blues won the xG battle in their last sixteen Bundesliga matches, since a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture in which they were the better side (AUG 1.3 – 2.34 SCH). At the prices therefore, the beleaguered hosts are worth siding with.
Best Betting Odds – Schalke vs Augsburg
Schalke – 9/4 (BetFred)
Draw – 23/10 (Betfair)
Augsburg – 6/5 (PaddyPower)
