Schalke 04 vs RB Leipzig 23/02/20

23 February 2020

A 1-0 away win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League has seen RB Leipzig keep a clean sheet for the third time in a row (W2, D1) as they now travel to the Veltins Arena to take on out-of-sorts Schalke 04 in the upper-half-of-the-table Bundesliga (BL) clash.

The hosts enter this round on a run of four consecutive league games without a win (D3, L1), with all but one of those matches featuring under 2.5 goals. For Schalke, goals have been at a premium in the new calendar year. In fact, they’ve drawn a blank in three of five BL outings since the turn of 2020, scoring more than once per match only once in the other two. Yet, the Miners have not lost a single BL home game since August (W4, D5), with just four of those fixtures producing over 2.5 goals, although six have witnessed both teams on the scoresheet. Goals could be in short supply this time around, too, given that all three of their previous top-flight H2Hs here have featured a maximum of two (W1, D1, L1).

On the other hand, just two wins in five league outings since the turn of the year (D2, L1) have seen the visitors surrender the top spot to Bayern Munich, whom they now trail by a single point. Also, ‘Die Roten Bullen’ have failed to grab a win in their previous three BL road trips (D2, L1), drawing a blank in the last two. Despite the recent lack of away goals, only Bayern (29) have managed more goals on the road than Leipzig (25) so far this season. But, even though 12 of those goals came in the first half (48%), Julian Nagelsmann’s men have shipped the opening goal (if any) in 45% (five) of 11 BL away fixtures. It will be vital for Leipzig to avoid allowing the opener here, considering just one of their six BL away triumphs came after they’ve conceded the first goal.