German Bundesliga
2009-10-31 - Schalke 04 vs Bayer Leverkusen
A Sports Betting Pick by Niko
Veltins Arena
Saturday, 31th October 2009 – kickoff 18:30
Schalke 04
Last week Schalke gave an entertaining performance against Hamburger in exciting 3-3 draw. Schalke was two goals down and still managed to get a point.
This week they host another title contender – Bayer Leverkusen in a match that is expected to be a true derby.
However, Schalke has some financial problems that are too hard to be solved in near future. There are reports that the club is in debt of 140 milion euros and that sum could be increased for additional 100 milion. Last week the club concluded a 26-milion euro deal by which the club will sell interest in their Arena to the contracting partners. In return, the partners will grant the Arena with company loans that should restructure the team finances.
This is not an easy task and coach Magath is in bad position because not only he is a manager of the club but also he is a member of the board and has lots of things to think about, instead on focusing solely on the pitch. Also he will need to sell some of the players during the winter brake. The goalkeeper Neuer and the midfielder Rafinha are most likely to leave.
Back to football now, Schalke had made a great start this season and if there were not those two home defeats against SC Freiburg (0-1) and VfL Wolfsburg (1-2) they would have been at the top right now.
The team will play strong defensively, and the team has strong weapons in their right and left back that usually contribute in the attack as well. There is also a good mix in the team with older and younger players.
Kuranyi will be up front together with Farfan in a standard formation.
Probable Schalke 04 line-up :
Höwedes, Zambrano, Bordon, Westermann
Rafinha, Moritz, Schmitz, Holtby
Farfan, Kuranyi
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer have had two draws in a row and will be looking to end that run. Schalke is a tough opponent so there is a need a lot of work to be done.
Interesting fact is that the team coach Jupp Heynckes has been out of the team for a week now due an illness, and that the assistant coach Peter Hermann has held all the training sessions. He has not recovered yet and there is a still doubt if he is able to be on the bench at the Veltins Arena.
Boost for the team should be the news that the German National coach Joachim Löw has called up the striker Stefan Kiessling for the upcoming friendly matches against Chile (November 14th) and the Ivory Coast (November 18th). He is currently best Bundesliga striker with six goals scored so far.
Bayer will approach this match more defensively and wait for their chances. Renato Augusto and Simon Rolfes are still sidelined and will not play, same as the two months injured Michal Kadlec, but Toni
Kroos will be again in the starting eleven.
Probable Bayer Leverkusen line-up:
Schwaab, Friedrich, Hyypiä, Castro
Vidal, Reinartz,Barnetta, Kroos
Kiessling,Derdiyok
The Betting Verdict
Bayer are two points ahead of Schalke at the table, and in the last six matches between these two sides Bayer have a positive record and have not lost a single game.
Schalke are on a rise now and improved their game. In the last couple of matches they have showed a great character and their game was really fluent with short passes and lots of runing.
This is a derby match and anything can happen but i expect Schalke to have the edge and hand Leverkusen their first loss this season.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Schalke 04-Bayer Leverkusen 1-0
