Fighting for their Bundesliga lives, Schalke 04 occupy the dreaded relegation playoff spot ahead of Saturday's pivotal showdown with Eintracht Frankfurt at Veltins-Arena.
The hosts suffered a 6-0 mauling at the hands of Bayern Munich last weekend, while the visitors ended a 10-game winless run in the league with a 3-0 victory over Mainz 05.
Match preview
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The Bundesliga relegation battle looks set to go down to the wire as we approach the penultimate round of fixtures, with no confirmed demotions and seven teams in contention for the drop, including Schalke 04.
As it stands, the Royal Blues find themselves one point clear of the automatic relegation places and one point from guaranteed safety, meaning that Thomas Reis's men are on course to compete in the relegation playoff.
Schalke appeared to have turned the corner when they completed a run of three victories in four matches earlier this month, with a 5-2 thrashing of relegation rivals Hertha Berlin preceding successive victories over Werder Bremen and Mainz 05.
However, Reis's men were demolished by title-chasing Bayern Munich last weekend as they conceded six goals while failing to register a single attempt on target at the Allianz Arena, reigniting relegation fears in Gelsenkirchen.
At the end of the day, Schalke have managed to win just seven of their 32 Bundesliga games this season, and they are also the lowest scorers in the division, so they can have very few complaints about their current situation.
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Still, Schalke can take confidence from the fact that Eintracht Frankfurt have won only one of their previous 11 league matches, with last weekend's 3-0 victory over Mainz ending a run of five draws and five defeats for the Eagles.
A Daichi Kamada penalty gave Eintracht the lead before Aurelio Buta doubled the hosts' advantage on the stroke of half time, while Randal Kolo Muani wrapped up the points for his team with a strike midway through the second half.
Kolo Muani has now racked up 22 goals and 15 assists across all competitions this season, marking an outstanding debut campaign in Frankfurt, while Kamada has chipped in with 15 goals and six assists in his final season with the club.
There is no hiding the fact that Eintracht have struggled on the road in recent times, losing each of their last four away league games and six of their previous seven, with their most recent Bundesliga away victory coming all the way back in November.
That said, Oliver Glasner's men have a DFB-Pokal final showdown with RB Leipzig to look forward to after securing three successive away wins in that competition, proving that they can triumph on their travels.
Team News
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Schalke's injury list contains Ralf Fahrmann (groin), Justin Heekeren (knee), Mortiz Jenz (thigh) and Soichiro Kozuki (ankle), giving manager Thomas Reis plenty to think about in terms of his team selection.
Alexander Schwolow will continue between the sticks, while Liverpool loanee Sepp van den Berg is expected to resume his centre-back partnership with Marcin Kaminski.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Michael Frey looks set to lead the line, with Marius Bulter, Tom Krauss and Kenan Karaman offering attacking support to the lone striker.
Eintracht Frankfurt also have four players out injured at the moment, with Lucas Alario (knee) Kristijan Jakic (calf), Philipp Max (muscle) and Hrvoje Smolcic (knee) on the sidelines.
Oliver Glasner is unlikely to change the starting XI that ended the club's winless run last weekend, meaning that Mario Gotze will continue to support Randal Kolo Muani and Daichi Kamada in attack.
Sebastian Rode and Djibril Sow are expected to anchor the midfield, while Aurelio Buta and Christopher Lenz will occupy the wing-back roles.
Schalke 04 possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Brunner, Van den Berg, Kaminski, Uronen; Latza, Kral; Karaman, Krauss, Bulter; Frey
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Toure, Tuta, Ndicka; Buta, Rode, Sow, Lenz; Kamada, Gotze; Kolo Muani
We say: Schalke 04 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Given Eintracht Frankfurt have failed to record an away league victory since November, we expect a desperate Schalke outfit to get something from Saturday's clash, although the hosts will likely struggle to claim all three points.
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