Schalke can secure an important win and make a big statement against Bayern Munich on Saturday. The Royal Blues haven't defeated the Bavarians in the Bundesliga since the 200-2011 season. If they can manage a win against Bayern on Saturday, it'll be a great moment for Jens Keller to win over the supporters to his side.
Schalke vs. Bayern Munich: Preview, Projected Lineups, and TV schedule
The weekend’s big Bundesliga match takes place in Gelsenkirchen when Schalke host Bayern Munich.
Lars Baron
Read More: Bayern Munich blog Bavarian Football Works
Pep Guardiola's side has the more extensive injury list. In fact, Bayern's injury list is practically a "Who's Who" of missing players. They'll take the field on Saturday without Thiago Alcantara, Holger Badstuber, Mario Götze, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, and Javi Martinez. There's also the likelihood that Bastian Schweinsteiger will be seeing only a few minutes.
Both were successful midweek in the UEFA Champions League. Schalke defeated Steaua București 3-0. They unloaded on the Romanian champions with a blistering second half that saw them bang in three goals. Bayern downed Russian Champions CSKA Moscow to a 3-0 scoreline. They benefitted from an early David Alaba goal and never looked back.
There were some calling for Keller’s head at the start of the season when Schalke were sitting on only one point after three matches. However, the club have turned things around since the addition of Kevin Prince Boateng toward the end of the transfer deadline, and they’re on a path to move back up the table and get back into contention for one of the Champions League spots. Now, Schalke have 7 points, but they’re still 8 points behind leaders --- and rivals --- Borussia Dortmund.
The match will be intense as ever between these two clubs. Last season, Schalke’s Jermaine Jones told the media that they were not afraid of Bayern. In the two matches last year, Bayern beat them both times. It’s going to take a little more than the words from Jones to toughen up this Schalke team enough to battle Bayern, but they just may have that now with the introduction of KPB.
Projected Lineups
Schalke: Timo Hildebrand; Atsuto Uchida, Benedikt Höwedes, Joel Matip, Denis Aogo; Roman Neustädter, Marco Höger, Jefferson Farfan, Kevin Prince Boateng, Julian Draxler; Adam Szalai
Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer; Rafinha, Jerome Boateng, Dante, David Alaba; Philipp Lahm; Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos, Franck Ribery; Mario Mandzukic
Injuries and Suspensions
Schalke: Chinedu Obasi (leg), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (knee)
Bayern Munich: Thiago Alcantara (ankle), Holger Badstuber (knee), Mario Götze (knee), Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (leg), Javi Martinez (groin)
Television and Streaming
TV: Gol TV (USA & Canada), BT Sport (UK), Sky (Germany), Others
Streaming: Sky Go (Germany)
Time and Location
Time: 18:30 Local / 12:30 PM Eastern
Location: Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen
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