1. Bundesliga
play pause open Close
 
Played
February 4, 2012 2:30 PM GMT
Veltins-Arena — Gelsenkirchen
Referee:‬ D. Aytekin‎
Attendance:‬ 60557‎
 

Bundesliga Preview: Schalke - Mainz

Konigsblauen skipper Benedikt Howedes returns to face Thomas Tuchel's outfit, who are a mere three points away from the Bundesliga's drop zone

By Stephen Crawford

More On :  Mainz , Schalke 04, Schalke 04 vs Mainz
German Bundesliga: Schalke vs Stuttgart
Bongarts

 PROBABLE LINEUPS

SCHALKE

Schalke
Unnerstall
Howedes, Papadopoulos, Metzelder, Fuchs
Hoger, Matip
Obasi, Raul, Draxler
Huntelaar
MAINZ


Wetklo
Pospech, Bungert, Noveski, Fathi
Kirchhoff, Polanski, Soto
N. Muller
Szalai, Choupo-Moting

The big news for the hosts is that captain Benedikt Howedes has returned to the side after recovering from a fractured cheekbone incurred in late January when the Germany international clashed with team-mate Marco Hoger.

However, the bad news for Huub Stevens is that Lewis Holtby, Peer Kluge and Ralf Fahrmann remain sidelined, while Jermaine Jones must miss this one out due to suspension.

For Mainz, Bo Svensson, Stefan Bell and Marcel Risse are all out through injury, while Tunisia striker Sami Allagui is unavailable for selection due to being at the Africa Cup of Nations.


 DID YOU KNOW
  • Historically, Schalke are superior to Mainz at both home and away. In 11 encounters so far between the two sides, Schalke have won seven times, lost three and drawn once.
  • Last season, Mainz had their first success at the Veltins-Arena after six consecutive losses. Lewis Holtby, who is now a Schalke a player, was one of the scorers in the 1-3 on that day.
  • Coincidentally, another player who was at Mainz last season and now plays for Schalke, Christian Fuchs, is the only player in the host team who has featured in every minute of his club's 19 Bundesliga matches this campaign.
  • Mainz are the only team in the German top flight to have gone on to lose a match after going 2-0 up this season. Any guesses as to who it was against? Exactly – Schalke won 4-2 at the Coface Arena back in August.
  • Klaas-Jan Huntelaar could become the fifth non-German player – and the 20th Schalke player – to score more than 25 Bundesliga goals. Currently on 24, the Dutchman is closely followed by Raul (23) and Jefferson Farfan (22).

Follow Goal.com on Twitter

Follow Goal.com on Facebook
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Schalke 04 3-1 Mainz
    29.56 %
  • Schalke 04 3-0 Mainz
    16.35 %
  • Schalke 04 2-0 Mainz
    12.58 %
Head to Head
1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Feb 4, 2012 Schalke 04 1 - Mainz 1
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Aug 21, 2011 Mainz 2 - Schalke 04 4
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ May 7, 2011 Schalke 04 1 - Mainz 3
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ Dec 12, 2010 Mainz 0 - Schalke 04 1
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
1. Bundesliga ‎(GER1)‎ May 8, 2010 Mainz 0 - Schalke 04 0
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
Last Five Matches
Schalke 04
May 5, 2012Werder Bremen 2 - Schalke 04 3GER1
Apr 28, 2012Schalke 04 4 - Hertha BSC 0GER1
Apr 22, 2012FC Augsburg 1 - Schalke 04 1GER1
Apr 14, 2012Schalke 04 1 - Borussia Dortmund 2GER1
Apr 11, 2012Nürnberg 4 - Schalke 04 1GER1
Mainz
May 5, 2012Mainz 0 - Borussia Mönchengladbach 3GER1
Apr 28, 2012Hamburg 0 - Mainz 0GER1
Apr 20, 2012Mainz 0 - VfL Wolfsburg 0GER1
Apr 14, 2012FC Bayern München 0 - Mainz 0GER1
Apr 10, 2012Mainz 4 - FC Köln 0GER1
Odds
Returns: Schalke £50.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Draw £38.50 188bet Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game
Returns: Mainz £110.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
36Lars UnnerstallGoalkeeper
4Benedikt HöwedesDefender
14Kyriakos PapadopoulosDefender
23Christian FuchsDefender
12Marco HögerMidfielder
31Julian DraxlerMidfielder
32Joel MatipMidfielder
7RaúlStriker
8Ciprian MaricaStriker
20Chinedu Ogbuke ObasiStriker
25Klaas-Jan HuntelaarStriker
34Timo HildebrandGoalkeeper
3Sergio EscuderoDefender
21Christoph MetzelderDefender
18JuradoMidfielder
28Christoph MoritzMidfielder
17Jefferson Agustin FarfánStriker
20Teemu PukkiStriker
29Christian WetkloGoalkeeper
2Zdenek PospechDefender
4Nikolce NoveskiDefender
8Radoslav ZabavnikDefender
15Jan KirchhoffDefender
26Niko BungertDefender
6Marco CaligiuriMidfielder
7Eugen PolanskiMidfielder
19Elkin SotoMidfielder
10Eric Maxim Choupo-MotingStriker
35Mohamed ZidanStriker
33Heinz MüllerGoalkeeper
18Malik FathiDefender
11Yunus MalliMidfielder
14Julian BaumgartlingerMidfielder
27Nicolai MüllerMidfielder
13Anthony UjahStriker
30Deniz YilmazStriker
Players to Watch
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 25
Games Goals YC RC
32 29 1 0
The in-form Netherlands striker could make history with a pair of goals on Saturday, so keep an eye on him exploiting a back line whose last competitive clean sheet was in the DFB Pokal last October.
Christian Wetklo
Christian Wetklo
Position: Goalkeeper
Squad Number: 29
Games Goals YC RC
22 0 3 0
The 32-year-old will undoubtedly have to be on his feet against a goal-hungry Schalke side. It should be interesting to see how well he communicates with his defenders and, inevitably, deal with shots that are struck his way.
Prediction
Schalke have won their last five home games, while Mainz have drawn three and lost two of their last five away fixtures. The hosts are in good form at the moment, and visiting fans shouldn't put too much hope into getting much needed points from this one.
Editor's Prediction
Schalke 3
Mainz 1
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Striker
Schalke 		29 6
Mario Gomez Mario Gomez
Striker
Bayern 		26 4
Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski
Striker
Dortmund 		22 0
Lukas Podolski Lukas Podolski
Striker
FC Koln 		18 3
Claudio Pizarro Claudio Pizarro
Striker
Werder Bremen 		18 2