Schalke 04 vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach: Time, TV schedule and game preview

The battle for Champions League qualification is heating up in the Bundesliga. Six teams remain in contention for the four places, but the top two -- Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg -- look like locks to hold on to their spots. Therefore, it’s really four teams going at it for just two spots. Two of these teams, Schalke 04 and Borussia Mönchengladbach, face off in Spieltag 20’s Friday night match.

Coming off of two wins to start the Rückrunde, things are going well for ‘Gladbach. Lucien Favre’s side is in third place, although they have just two points more than Schalke. Sometimes teams can slump after the winter break, but winning the first two matches of the second half of the season is encouraging, even if they were both 1-0 victories over teams in the bottom third of the table.

Roberto di Matteo’s Königsblauen escaped the Allianz Arena with a point last Tuesday after going behind to 10-man Bayern. Since di Matteo replaced Jens Keller on October 7th, Schalke have seen a steady rise in the table, from 11th up to sixth. So far, the Royal Blues have won seven, drawn twice, and lost three times under the Italian.

Both teams could decide to sit back and be satisfied with a point here, especially since this is the third match both teams will be playing in a week. However, both managers could see it as an opportunity to steal points from another side with the same goals as theirs, so there are definitely incentives to play for the win. Now back from Africa’s Cup of Nations, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is crucial to this Schalke side. So far this season he has nine goals and five assists. Max Meyer in attacking midfield is another player to watch. For Gladbach, Patrick Herrmann has delivered the only goal in their past two games. Thorgan Hazard could spell him at right midfield due to the need to rotate the squad, or we could see the 21-year old Belgian on the left of midfield or coming off the bench. As long as they can provide service to Max Kruse up top, Die Föhlen have a chance to win.

Schalke 04 injuries and suspensions

Out: Julian Draxler (hamstring), Ralf Fährmann (knee), Sead Kolasinac, (knee), Jefferson Farfan (knee), Jan Kirchoff (knee), Fabian Giefer (thigh/groin), Marco Höger (knee), Chinedu Obasi (leg), Leon Goretzka (hamstring), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (suspended).

Borussia Mönchengladbach injuries and suspensions

Out: André Hahn (Achilles), Martin Stranzl (head).

Schalke have a ridiculous amount of injuries. Huntelaar getting a very stupid red in the 85th minute against Hannover which resulted in a six-match ban didn’t help either. However, bringing in Matija Nastasić on loan from Manchester City has given di Matteo another central defender, allowing a system with three at the back to continued to be used, after Felipe Santana left for the riches of Greece. They are also down to their third-choice goalkeeper, Timon Wellenreuther. Last time the teams met, ‘Gladbach won 4-1 with an Andrê Hahn brace, so Schalke will be relieved to see he won’t be playing this time around.

Projected lineups:

Schalke 04: Timon Wellenreuther, Benedikt Höwedes, Joel Matip, Matija Nastasić, Christian Fuchs, Roman Neustädter, Atsuto Uchida, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Max Meyer, Eric Maxim Chuopo-Moting, Sidney Sam.

Borussia Mönchegladbach: Yann Sommer, Oscar Wendt, Alvaro Dominguez, Tony Janschke, Julian Korb, Fabian Johnson, Christoph Kramer, Granit Xhaka, Patrick Herrmann, Raffael, Max Kruse.

Match Date/Time: Friday, 8:30 p.m. local, 2:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

TV: MyGermanTV+, GOLTV (U.S.), BT Sport 1 (U.K.), Sky Bundesliga 1/HD (Germany)

Online: GOLTV online, FUBO TV (U.S.), BT Sport (U.K.), Sky Go Deutschland (Germany)