Bayer Leverkusen vs Schalke 04
German Bundesliga
Date: Friday, 28th April 2017
Kick-off at 19:30 UK/ 20:30 CET
Venue: BayArena.
Bayer Leverkusen’s managerial change of Roger Schmidt for interim coach Tayfun Korkut hasn’t provided the spark many would have hoped. Leverkusen valiantly defended a 0-0 draw with just 10 men at home to Bayern Munich last time out at the BayArena, but their 2-1 defeat on the road to surprise European candidates Freiburg last weekend means that Leverkusen have still taken just one win in eight across all competitions under Korkut (W1 D4 L3). Repeating last season’s Champions League qualification is now out of the question and should they fail to get a result on Friday, Europa League will be out of reach too.
Schalke 04 are another side under-performing this season. Schalke’s 1-1 draw at home to RB Leipzig was yet another positive result at the Veltins Arena – Markus Weinzierl’s side are now nine matches unbeaten at home (W4 D5) – but Schalke’s weakness has been in their inability to consistently produce those same performances away from home. Schalke hold the 4th worst away record in the Bundesliga (W2 D4 L8) and, though somewhat unfortunate, they even lost 2-1 to bottom of the table Darmstadt 98 the last time out on the road.
Bayer Leverkusen are the favourites here at 1/1 with bet365, but we feel there’s better value to be had in the hosts to lead at half time (Half Time Result – Bayer Leverkusen at 13/8 with bet365) for the following reasons: first and foremost, though Bayer Leverkusen have been struggling to see matches through until the final whistle, there’s no denying that Korkut’s men are often the better side in the first 45 minutes. Bayer Leverkusen have been leading at half-time in 8 of their 15 Bundesliga home matches this season (53%), including 5 of their last 7 at the BayArena – a strong enough statistic alone to make this a profitable endeavor. Meanwhile, Schalke’s busy schedule over the past few weeks sees a few of their core starters sidelined ahead of Friday (see team news), which should do little to help their poor form on the road – Schalke have been trailing at half-time in 29% of their Bundesliga away matches, including in all three of their most recent away defeats.
Regarding a correct score bet, we don’t see the hosts running away with this one. Schalke have scored exactly one goal in seven of their last ten Bundesliga away days (W2 D3 L5), while Leverkusen themselves haven’t been as proficient as you’d expect. Ultimately, Bayer Leverkusen have a decent opportunity to sneak just their 2nd competitive win under Korkut against the “travel-sick” Schalke and, as such, a 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen win at 15/2 seems about right.
Schalke 04
Die Konigsblauen are in a somewhat better position being two points above Leverkusen.
However, it has still been far from a solid season for the visitors who, truth be told, struggled a lot with the injury trouble since the very start of their Bundesliga campaign.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Schalke 04: Head to head
Bayer have been much more successful of the two teams in head to head meetings as they lead the head to head tie by 13 victories ahead of their 67th meeting with Schalke.
The domination has been especially notable in the most recent period as Bayer took four wind and played a draw in last five encounters with Die Konigsblauen.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Schalke 04: Prediction
The head to head stats would point out on the home win, but we just don’t want to risk our money on a side that has won only a single of their last 11 outings in all competitions.
We’ll rather chase the value and go for a draw, while BTTS does not look as a bad call either since both teams are desperate at the back.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Schalke 04: Bet Tips
The main betting pick is BTTS at the odds of 1.64 with Unibet
