Competition: German Bundesliga 2016-17
Date: Saturday, 11th February, 17:30 GMT
Stadium: VELTINS-Arena.


Schalke 04 vs Hertha Berlin Preview

Schalke is on a downward spiral as the team has been winless in five of their last six matches. They are now settled in the 12th spot of the 18-team German top flight table, tied on points with Mainz and only six points above the bottom three relegation area.
Die Königsblauen was able to hold defending champions Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw on the road at the Allianz Arena in their most recent Bundesliga fixture last Saturday, as per Goal.
Bayern forward Robert Lewandowski broke the game’s deadlock in the ninth minute but Schalke was able to equalize immediately in the 13th minute with a free kick by Brazilian defender Naldo.
It was a second straight winless performance for head coach Markus Weinzierl’s squad, but it was an impressive performance considering that they are up against the four-straight champs and the current league leaders.
Meanwhile, Hertha Berlin is also struggling with four losses in their last six games. As a result, the team has dropped to the sixth spot in the overall standings from being in the top four for most of the season.

Die Alte Dame is coming off a tough 1-0 win over bottom three side FC Ingolstadt at their home ground of Olympiastadion also last Saturday, Vavel reported.
Japanese winger Genki Haraguchi scored the winning goal for head coach Pál Dárdai’s side with a right-footed shot from the center of the box right in the second minute of the match off an assist by Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou.
Both sides went scoreless from there as Hertha snapped a two-game losing slide.

Prediction and Predicted Lineup

The predicted result is a close 2-1 win for Hertha Berlin.

Schalke starting lineup (3-1-4-2 formation): Fahrmann; Howedes, Naldo, Badstuber; Stambouli; Schopf, Goretzka, Bentaleb, Kolasinac; Caligiuri, Burgstaller

Hertha Berlin starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Jarstein; Pekarik, Langkamp, Brooks, Mittelstadt; Lustenberger, Darida; Haraguchi, Stocker, Kalou; Ibisevic