Schalke 04 vs Union Berlin
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Today’s free tip is in the German Bundesliga encounter between Schalke 04 and Union Berlin.
Truth be told, I really wish Schalke 04 hadn’t sacked Wagner yet. Well, I’m not so sure that sacking him was the right course of action anyway. I know the fans disliked him but they must surely realise by now that the ailments of the club are the fault of those at the top of the ladder rather than the manager? This is not a good team, and it’s not Wagner’s fault that he’s had nothing to work with. I think relegation is imminent for Schalke 04, to be frank. It may not be this season, and it may not be the season after, but it’s going to come, just like it did for Hamburger SV.
But yeah – I wish the sacking had come at a different time because suddenly Union Berlin are the public bet today, and I dislike public bets immensely because they never seem to come off. Everybody is on Union Berlin here, and although I agree with the logic (hence the tip), the more people on it mean that the odds are not as favourable as they could be. Other than that though, I’m not seeing a reason to doubt the visitors. I suspect there’ll be some kind of bounce with Baum as interim manager, but that doesn’t stop this being a poor, poor side.
I appreciate that Schalke 04 took some beatings this season but the writing was on the wall for them way before the ex-Huddersfield Town man took. This season is a prime example; what have they done to make this season not quite as disastrous as the last, which would have almost certainly seen them relegated had it gone on for another four rounds? They’ve signed a semi-decent target man in Paciencia, a new goalkeeper in Ronnow, and classy striker Ibisevic, who is literally their only good signing there. I concur that they needed a new goalkeeper, and said it since they pathetically banished Bayern Munich-bound Nubel from the first-team (his replacement made far too many errors because he was too young and not ready), but an Eintracht Frankfurt understudy is the best they could do? Really? Also, Paciencia – at a time when they need match-winners – is supposed to be their designated striker? Honestly? He’s alright at best, and where his service is going to come from this season, I just don’t know.
One of their few remaining good players – McKennie – was allowed to leave for Juventus in a joke of a deal because the Schalke 04 board have said they need all they money they can get right now. I think they’re bloody lucky that Atalanta Bergamo ultimately signed Miranchuk instead of Harit. I think the Moroccan would have been next on the list had Gomez indeed moved to the Middle East after all, as was mooted for quite a long time. Can you imagine this team without both of them? It would probably be the worst Schalke 04 side I’ve ever seen. I mean, for goalkeepers, they’ve got Eintracht Frankfurt’s number two or veteran Fahrmann, who spent part of last season on loan with Brann Bergen in Norway. Both options were preferred to young Schubert, who has instead joined Eintracht Frankfurt on loan. Now, if they thought Schubert was ready for the Bundesliga last season, why loan him out now? I think he made way too many errors, but then again, young goalkeepers do. If he was good enough then though, why not now? Surely he deserves more faith from them than what they’ve shown?
I could go on all day about Schalke 04’s oddities all day but I don’t want to bore you all. I’ll simply surmise it by saying this; I’ve no idea how Sane still gets in this team, Turkish wonderkid Kabak is out, Nastasic has not played regularly in ages, their main goal threat Serdar is out, they’ve no flair/creativity other than Harit, and they’re short of goal-scorers. The only positive thing is that Schalke 04 have the best academy in German football so they’re never far away from the next wonderkid. These days though, they’re only too happy to accept any bid that comes in, or so it seems, and that means that this club is going nowhere fast – other than down.
The above represents a team that Union Berlin should not struggle with. Schalke 04 are energetic, to be fair to them, and I am sure they’ll be out to impress their new boss. However, Union Berlin were made in the Bundesliga 2, and you don’t get out of that division to begin with unless you have drive, commitment, and belief. The capital club have stayed true to their roots since being promoted too – a lot of these lads played for them in the division below, and that’s where some of their new recruits (e.g. Griesbeck) came from. They’ll never back down from a battle, Union Berlin, and I love that about them.
True enough, they do lack quality in some areas. Take their home game versus Augsburg earlier this season, for example. Augsburg weren’t better than them, but still ran out 3-1 winners because Union Berlin’s defending from wide positions was atrocious, and because Union Berlin didn’t take their chances well enough, largely because they were still adjusting to life without Andersson as a target man. For what it’s worth, I think that selling the Swede for the amount they got was a great decision on their part; he had a marvellous campaign last season but cannot repeat it because he’s just not that good. Besides, I think Ingvartsen is a more than able deputy.
Still, Union Berlin identify their weaknesses and address them – which they’ve done this season too. They recognised their need for a natural creator after Malli’s loan spell ended, and signed Kruse on a free – an absolute bargain. He’s already proven how good he is at this level on countless occasions, especially with Werder Bremen. They also loaned Pohjanpalo from Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and I like that signing a lot. He’s a very underrated forward, the Finn, but injuries have not been kind to him. I’m sure he’ll be a great success at Union Berlin this season; he’s better than Andersson, for my money. They also brought in Awoniyi to cope with times like these when Ujah is out. Like I said – Union Berlin are a clever, calculating bunch that should never be underestimated.
Union Berlin also brought in goalkeeper Karius from Liverpool, which was a fun signing. He’s made a lot of mistakes over the past few years but knows this level well, and they needed a replacement for the departed Gikiewicz, now of Augsburg. I think it’s a risk-free move for them, especially as veteran Luthe is there too. Who knows – Karius may go back to being the reasonable goalkeeper he always was before Liverpool signed him. This is certainly the harmonious, encouraging environment that he needs in order to recapture his best form.
I like where the capital club are at right now, to be frank. They’re not excellent at anything, but they are good at the majority of things. They’re flexible, hard-working, and confident with more than a sprinkling of talent now. The way in which they dismantled a Niakhate-less Mainz 05 last time out was very encouraging, and there aren’t many teams they’d have relished playing more than spineless Schalke 04 today, with or without the expected bounce.
Therefore, backing Union Berlin to outfight, and ultimately outscore, Schalke 04 makes a lot of sense to me with draw no bet at 4/5.
Verdict: Union Berlin to win with draw no bet 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.
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Zulte-Waregem vs Antwerp
Royal Excel Mouscron vs AS Eupen
Racing Genk vs Sporting Charleroi
RSC Anderlecht vs OH Leuven
Brazilian Serie A:
Internacional vs Vasco da Gama
Corinthians vs Flamengo
RB Bragantino vs Sport Recife
Fortaleza vs Palmeiras
Bulgarian A PFG:
Botev Vratsa vs CSKA 1948 Sofia
Cherno More Varna vs Montana
Slavia Sofia vs Levski Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Hajduk Split vs Sibenik
NK Osijek vs Lokomotiva Zagreb
Danish Superligaen:
AGF vs AC Horsens
Vejle vs Lyngby
SonderjyskE vs Brondby
FC Copenhagen vs Aalborg BK
English Premier League:
Crystal Palace vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Leicester City vs Aston Villa
Sheffield United vs Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Tammeka vs Kuressaare
Legion vs Flora Paide
Trans Narva vs Flora Tallinn (
Faroese Betrideildin:
IF vs NSI Runavik
HB Torshavn vs Vikingur Gota
Skala vs AB
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
HJK vs HIFK
IFK Mariehamn vs SJK
Ilves vs Inter Turku
KuPS vs FC Honka Espoo
French Ligue 1:
Racing Club Strasbourg vs Olympique Lyonnais
Angers SCO vs Metz
AS Monaco vs Montpellier HSC
FC Nantes Atlantique vs Stade Brestois
AS Saint-Etienne vs OGC Nice
Lille OSC vs Racing Club Lens
German Bundesliga:
Koln vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Schalke 04 vs Union Berlin
German Bundesliga 2:
Fortuna Dusseldorf vs Jahn Regensburg
Paderborn 07 vs Hannover 96
Erzgebirge Aue vs Heidenheim
Wurzburger Kickers vs Holstein Kiel
Hungarian Liga 1
Paksi SE vs Zalaegerszegi TE
Budapest Honved vs Fehervar
Icelandic Urvalsdeild:
KR vs KA
IA vs Breidablik Kopavogur
Vikingur Reykjavik vs Stjarnan Gardabaer
Italian Serie A:
Bologna vs Sassuolo
Spezia vs ACF Fiorentina
Torino vs Cagliari
Udinese vs Parma
AS Roma vs Benevento
Dutch Eredivisie:
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Sparta Rotterdam
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs SC Heerenveen
ADO Den Haag vs Vitesse Arnhem
FC Emmen vs Fortuna Sittard
FC Groningen vs FC Utrecht
PEC Zwolle vs PSV Eindhoven
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Kristiansund vs Rosenborg BK
Haugesund vs Sarpsborg 08
Stabaek vs Aalesund FK
Stromsgodset vs Start Kristiansand
Sandefjord vs Valerenga Oslo
Portuguese Liga 1
Pacos de Ferreira vs Santa Clara
Belenenses vs Moreirense
Farense vs Famalicao
Rio Ave vs SL Benfica
Portuguese Liga 2:
Academica de Coimbra vs Penafiel
Academico Viseu vs Cova de Piedade
Sporting Covilha vs Vilafranquense
Russian Premier League:
Arsenal Tula vs Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast
Rotor Volgograd vs Tambov
CSKA Moscow vs Dinamo Moscow
FK Rostov vs Akhmat Grozny
Spanish Primera Liga:
Eibar vs CA Osasuna
Athletic Club vs Levante CF
Villarreal CF vs Valencia CF
Deportivo Alaves vs Elche
Huesca vs Real Valladolid
Real Betis Balompie vs Real Sociedad
Swedish Allsvenskan
Sirius vs Ostersunds FK
Hammarby vs Mjallby Solvesborg
Elfsborg Boras vs Kalmar FF
AIK Solna vs IFK Goteborg
Varberg vs IFK Norrkoping
Swiss Super League:
Luzern vs St. Gallen
FC Sion vs Lausanne Sport
FC Zurich vs FC Basel
Turkish Super Lig:
Hatayspor vs BB Erzurumspor
Fatih Karagumruk vs Kasimpasa
Antalyaspor vs Gazisehir Gaziantep
Goztepe vs Fenerbahce
Enjoy your free betting tips!