SC Freiburg vs Schalke 04
FreeWe’re always looking for new recruits to help us so please click here if you want to find out more about the ways you can help us (e.g. local input, watching games)!
There are 2 bankers & 4 value tips in the Members Section today so feel free to sign up here to see everything + team news!
I appreciate that Schalke 04 finally broke their malaise last time out by hammering Hertha Berlin but I’m still not convinced. This squad lacks togetherness, effectiveness, and most of all, quality. Upsetting a complacent, predictable Hertha Berlin side that has been dicing with relegation for years now is not something that I’m going to spend much time reading into. I’m sure it’ll have done Schalke 04 the power of good mentally, but it’s not resolved any of their glaring issues, and SC Freiburg are seldom charitable in home games.
As is commonplace nowadays, the visitors find themselves without a lot of players. Most of them are somewhat unimportant but with Yoshida and Krauss amongst them now, I’m inclined to believe that this will be an even harder game for the Gelsenkirchen outfit. One thing Reis has brought to the club since taking over is a resilience of sorts. They’re certainly not as lifeless and soulless as they used to be. However, they’re still not near other Bundesliga slides, to be honest. I hate to be downcast about one of Germany’s biggest clubs, especially arguably the best club in the country for producing talented youngsters, but I believe they’re lacking too much to win this battle against relegation.
The huge problem that confronts Schalke 04 is that they don’t score goals. Yes, I know they rattled in five last match, but before that they almost averaged scoring a goal every 1.5 games, which is just isn’t good enough. They’ve played Terodde too often for a player that has consistently proven that he cannot do it at this level, and now find themselves relying on Bulter, who is nothing special. There are players that I like in this Schalke 04 squad but without any effectiveness as a unit, I don’t fear them, and especially not against a good SC Freiburg away from home.
SC Freiburg have looked more focused since their UEFA Europa League campaign came to an end. They’re not quite back to their best, and I get why – it’s been a long season for them. However, they’re back to being annoying to score against, and being rather dangerous in the final third. Even the potential absence of Gregoritsch here does not bother me because of how resourceful Streich and co. are. It still blows my mind that Pedersen hasn’t scored this season, though – never thought I’d say that!
The beauty of SC Freiburg is that they bring goals to the table from everywhere. Woo-yeong hasn’t been as prolific this season; no problem. Kyereh and Sallai are out here; still no problem. Why? Well, Grifo is a top-class player nowadays, Holer and Doan always seem to pop up with goals when required, and they’re good at scoring from set pieces too, particularly Ginter. It’s so hard to anticipate and defend against such a fluid, confident, and hard-working outfit.
The only real problem I envision for SC Freiburg is that absence of Eggestein, who sort of keeps things ticking for them in midfield, thus allowing Grifo to do the fancy stuff. I’m still not worried, though. Schalke 04 leave way too many gaps at the back, and with Yoshida out, that trend should continue. For my money, SC Freiburg will dominate this game, and their pass-and-move approach should expose Schalke 04’s many weaknesses rather easily.
Therefore, with or without Gregoritsch, the home win floats my boat at 4/5.
Verdict: SC Freiburg to win at 4/5.
Sunday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Australian A-League:
Melbourne Victory vs Macarthur FC
Perth Glory vs Adelaide United
Austrian Bundesliga:
Austria Vienna vs Austria Klagenfurt
LASK vs Rapid Vienna
Sturm Graz vs Salzburg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Club Brugge vs AS Eupen
RSC Anderlecht vs KV Mechelen
AA Gent vs KV Oostende
OH Leuven vs Standard de Liege
Kortrijk vs Union Saint-Gilloise
Zulte-Waregem vs Cercle Brugge
Sint-Truiden vs Antwerp
Sporting Charleroi vs Racing Genk
Brazilian Serie A:
Internacional vs Flamengo
Vasco da Gama vs Palmeiras
Santos vs Atletico Mineiro
Coritiba vs Fortaleza
Goias vs Corinthians
Bulgarian A PFG:
Pirin Blagoevgrad vs CSKA Sofia
Levski Sofia vs Beroe
Croatian Prva Liga:
Gorica vs Rijeka
Czechia Liga 1:
Slovan Liberec vs Zbrojovka Brno
Ceske Budejovice vs Baumit Jablonec
Viktoria Plzen vs Zlin
Danish Superligaen:
Viborg vs FC Nordsjaelland
Brondby vs Randers
AGF vs FC Copenhagen
AC Horsens vs FC Midtjylland
English Premier League:
Bournemouth vs West Ham United
Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur
English FA Cup:
Manchester United vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Laagri vs Tammeka
Flora Tallinn vs FCI Levadia Tallinn
Kuressaare vs Nomme Kalju
Vaprus Parnu vs Flora Paide
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
KuPS vs Ilves
HJK vs AC Oulu
French Ligue 1:
Stade de Reims vs Racing Club Strasbourg
AC Ajaccio vs Stade Brestois
Lorient vs Toulouse
FC Nantes Atlantique vs Troyes
OGC Nice vs Clermont Foot 38
Montpellier HSC vs Stade Rennais
Olympique Lyonnais vs Olympique de Marseille
German Bundesliga:
SC Freiburg vs Schalke 04
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs Union Berlin
German Bundesliga 2:
Heidenheim vs Holstein Kiel
SV Sandhausen vs Paderborn 07
Jahn Regensburg vs Kaiserslautern
Hungarian Liga 1:
Paksi SE vs Varda SE
Puskas FC vs Mezokovesd-Zsory
Zalaegerszegi TE vs Debreceni VSC
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
MS Ashdod vs Maccabi Haifa
Beitar Jerusalem vs Hapoel Hadera
Italian Serie A:
Empoli vs Internazionale
Udinese vs Cremonese
Monza vs ACF Fiorentina
Milan vs Lecce
Juventus vs SSC Napoli
Italian Serie B:
Pisa vs Bari
Ternana vs Venezia
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Dziugas Telsiai vs Zalgiris Vilnius
Dainava vs Hegelmann Litauen
Kauno Zalgiris vs Suduva Marijampole
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Twente Enschede vs Sparta Rotterdam
Go Ahead Eagles vs Fortuna Sittard
PSV Eindhoven vs AFC Ajax Amsterdam
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs FC Utrecht
AZ vs RKC Waalwijk
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Aalesund FK vs Bodo/Glimt
Hamarkameratene vs Stromsgodset
Rosenborg BK vs Sandefjord
Sarpsborg 08 vs Odd
Stabaek vs Haugesund
Tromso vs Viking Stavanger
Lillestrom SK vs Molde FK
Portuguese Liga 1:
Portimonense vs Gil Vicente
SL Benfica vs Estoril
Santa Clara vs Chaves
Arouca vs Vizela
Spanish Primera Liga:
Elche vs Valencia
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
Real Mallorca vs Getafe
Sevilla vs Villarreal
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Djurgarden vs IFK Goteborg
Kalmar FF vs Halmstad
Sirius vs BK Hacken Goteborg
IFK Varnamo vs AIK Solna
Swiss Super League:
FC Basel vs Luzern
Lugano vs FC Sion
FC Zurich vs St. Gallen
Swiss Challenge League:
Vaduz vs Lausanne Sport
Turkish Super Lig:
Kasimpasa vs Konyaspor
Adana Demirspor vs Kayserispor
Galatasaray vs Fatih Karagumruk
Enjoy your free betting tips!