Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs. Schalke 04 Betting Preview, Odds, Prediction

The European champions didn’t have too much time to celebrate, as they start the next Bundesliga campaign already this Friday. Bayern Munich will host Schalke 04, at the season opener, in front of the limited number of spectators at Allianz Arena. This was once a major derby of German football, but the difference in quality today is just too big to call it a derby. How can we describe some matchup a derby when one side hasn’t won in 10 years.

Preview

Bayern Munich (-850) is the absolute favorite in this clash, and not just that but the absolute favorite to win the title. No team in Bundesliga might challenge the Bavarians, although some might think that Borussia and Red Bull have the power to dethrone them. We saw how Borussia chokes in the last games of the season, two years in a row, and we doubt that there could be any different this time.

Bayern hasn’t lost in 30 competitive matches in a row, posting just one draw during that time, and 29 victories. We will focus on their latest events, the ones from the Champions League.

In four games, Hansi Flick’s side beat all four opponents with a goal difference of 16-3. In the semis and the finals, they haven’t allowed a goal. Also, just to remind you that they smashed Barca with 8-2.

Schalke (+1400) comes as an underdog, a massive one, and judging by the performances during the offseason, they some team capable of making a surprise in Munich. They defeated Bochum, 3-0, and Aris, 1-0 in the last two contests, but lost to Uerdingen and Verl before these two games. The Miners did play with a combined lineup then, but still, it is a bitter experience.

They ended the last year with a horrendous winless streak that lasted since January, until the end of the campaign. It was unreal how they managed to lose all those points, after a pretty solid first half of the season. In 17 games, Schalke had 11 losses and seven defeats.

The team from Gelsenkirchen wasn’t very active on the market during the summer, but they managed to lose one excellent player, Weston McKenna, who left for Juventus.

Latest News

Bayern will be disabled due to David Alaba’s and Jerome Boateng’s absences. These two guys are the pivotal players in the back line.

Schalke will appear without center-back Matija Nastasic and Salif Sane.

Head to Head Games

Since 2010, the Miners haven’t won in this matchup. Over the previous five matches, they scored just one goal, allowing 14. Of course, Bayern posted all five victories. Last four contests in Munich all saw Bayern scoring twice or more, and winning each event.

Prediction

Bayern is a goal-machine, with Robert Lewandowski as its leader when it comes to scoring. Leroy Sane arrived from Manchester City, adding even more speed and flamboyancy to Bayern’s attack. As always, we are betting on goals here, picking the hosts to net twice in the first half. The odds on that are -105 which is an excellent thing.