Bundesliga: Schalke 04 vs Bayern Munich preview

Bundesliga: Schalke 04 vs Bayern Munich preview
Reigning champions Bayern Munich will be looking to make it two wins out of two this season when they visit Schalke 04 on Friday evening. Last season Bayern won both matches against Schalke, 3-0 at home and 3-1 away, extending their unbeaten records against them to eleven competitive games. The last time Schalke beat Bayern in a Bundesliga match was in December 2010. Last season Schalke finished fifth and their aim for this campaign is to secure a top-four finish, which would allow them to enter the Champions League. Schalke kicked off the season with a disappointing performance and a 1-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt. They did have a slightly better second half but most likely the players will need time to adapt to the way the new head coach, Markus Weinzierl, wants them to play. Fabian Giefer, Atsuto Uchida, Coke and Donis Avdijaj are injured and will not be able to take part, but new signing Breel Embolo is set to make his first appearance in the first eleven. On-loan signing Yevhen Konoplyanka will most likely start on the bench. Bayern Munich started their life under new head coach Carlo Ancelotti in triumphant style, thumping Werder Bremen 6-0 on the opening day of the Bundesliga season. Striker Robert Lewandowski bagged a hat-trick as Bayern could have made the result even more humiliating for Werder. Kingsley Coman, Renato Sanches, Douglas Costa, Holger Badstuber, Jérôme Boateng and Arjen Robben all have fitness problems, and what Bayern did without them on opening day becomes even more impressive. Probable line-ups: Schalke: Fahrmann - Caicara, Naldo, Howedes, Baba - Bentaleb, Geis - Embolo, Meyer, Choupo-Moting - Huntelaar Bayern: Neuer - Lahm, Martinez, Hummels, Alaba - Kimmich, Alonso, Alcantara - Muller, Lewandowski, Ribery My prediction: Bayern to win 2-0. Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: Schalke win - 10.00 Draw - 5.75 Bayern win - 1.29
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