Bundesliga: Will Schalke End Their Dry Spell?

Schalke 04 vs VfB Stuttgart

Schalke are in trouble right now in the 2020/21 season. By losing four of their first five fixtures, Die Knappen have dug themselves into a large hole.

They simply looked out of it right from the get-go when they were beaten badly by the defending Bundesliga champions in Bayern Munich (8-0), and now they are in survival mode as we head into this weekend.

Manuel Baum’s men will lock horns with an up-and-coming club in VfB Stuttgart over at the Veltins-Arena with hopes that they can take advantage of playing in their home pitch and draw a out positive result.

Their visitors in VfB Stuttgart have been quite a surprise package in their first season back in the German top-flight. Under team manager Pellegrino Matarazzo, Die Schwaben took the league by storm with a couple of solid outings.

They have surpassed initial expectations here at SBOTOP as they are now fifth in the Bundesliga table with eight points – with only the likes of contenders RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen above them.

The question now is on whether they can continue to run hot in form over the next few weeks, especially if the big guns will be on their schedule.

But first, let us examine both of these teams by providing you the latest Bundesliga 2020 updates.

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Talking Points

Schalke lacking teeth and grit

There’s no way to go but up for Schalke, but they need to make a more concerted effort on both ends of the pitch if they want to survive this 2020/21 season.

One of Schalke’s main weak points is their inability to stop their opponents from scoring as they’ve already given up the league-worst mark of 19 goals so far.

They recently lost in the Revierderby as they were outscored 3-0 by their rivals on Borussia Dortmund. Centre-backs Mats Hummels and Manuel Akanji, and striker Erling Braut Haaland capped off an amazing night by the Yellow Wall to improve to third place in the table.

At the same time, they have yet to be on target given they’ve only knocked in two goals as of this writing.

It doesn’t help either that Die Knappen will miss some key players ahead of this match.

Ralf Fahrmann and Suat Serdar are out due to injuries while Ozan Kabak will continue to serve his suspension due to his earlier misbehaviour.

VfB Stuttgart’s depth handicapped

Die Schwaben have yet to face a significant hurdle in their first season back in top-flight. But their lineup depth will be tested as they’ll miss several personnel for this match.

Their injury list is pretty worrisome since it will affect them in all areas of the field one way or another.

Defence will take a hit with the absences of centre-back Maxime Awoudja and Konstantinos Mavropanos, and full-back Borna Sosa.

They will have to do it by committee on the attack as midfielders Clinton Mola, Philipp Forster, and winger Erik Thommy will be out too.

Sasa Kalajdzic aims to end his goal drought as they face Schalke 04 in Bundesliga — VfB Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic scored a header against Bayer Leverkusen

Striker Sasa Kalajdzic has been the brightest spot for VfB Stuttgart and he will carry a much heavier load for this weekend.

Kalajdzic is filling in well for their last season’s top scorer in Nicolas Gonzalez by pouring in three goals and two assists as of the moment. Gonzalez was once linked to Leeds United and he is still recuperating from a hip injury he sustained during the preseason.

History

Die Knappen and Die Schwaben have clashed 25 times prior to this contest.

Schalke own the edge in the overall head-to-heads with 13 wins, while VfB Stuttgart won in eight along with four draws.

These two last faced off in 2019 in a match that ended in a goalless draw. VfB Stuttgart dominated possession while having more shots on target, but they simply couldn’t get the job done.

Betting Tip

	Schalke 04 vs VfB Stuttgart	VfB Stuttgart Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 2.26
	October 31, 03:00 (GMT+8)

While VfB Stuttgart are favoured to win in this match according to the latest Bundesliga 2020 odds, it seems that they’ll have to earn it via the hard way.

They are priced to win at 2.26, while Schalke are pegged at 3.05 and a draw is at 3.35 in the 1X2 market.

Goals are at a premium for this one, so going for Under 2.50 @ 1.45 is worth placing your wagers too while Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.13 is also a plausible bet.

Recent form will play a large role for these two clubs. And with VfB Stuttgart having the upper hand, it is widely expected that they’ll continue to add more misery to Schalke’s 2020/21 campaign.