Preview: Augsburg vs. Schalke 04 - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts, meanwhile, have won each of their last four league games at the WWK Arena.

Match preview

Indeed, Augsburg have been the ultimate Jekkyl and Hyde team since returning from the World Cup in January, winning all four of their home matches while losing all five of their games on the road.

In fairness, their most recent trip was never likely to end with a positive result given that they were coming up against their Bavarian rivals Bayern Munich, who came from behind after Mergim Berisha's early strike to win 5-3 in an entertaining encounter.

As such, Enrico Maassen will be hoping to complete perfect symmetry from a 10-match stretch when his side host Schalke on Saturday, but he will be more than aware of their forthcoming opponents' improved form of late.

In the bigger picture, victory for Augsburg would move them 10 points clear of their opponents in the table and the automatic relegation zone, which would surely dispel any concerns of being sucked into the chasing pack for another campaign.

Having punched above their weight to remain a Bundesliga outfit since their promotion from the second tier in 2011, moving clear of any realistic danger prior to the international break in March would represent a solid achievement in Maassen's first season at the club.

Schalke, meanwhile, have given themselves a tremendous chance of avoiding instantly returning to Germany's second tier by collecting 11 points from an unbeaten run of seven games in recent weeks.

After losing five of his opening six games in charge, Thomas Reis looked at a loss in terms of turning Die Konigsblauen's fortunes around as they began to be left behind at the bottom of the table.

However, the former VfL Bochum boss clearly focused on building from the back, with four successive goalless draws suggesting that his side had turned a corner, before crucial victories against relegation rivals Stuttgart and his former club finally moved them off the foot of the table.

Schalke showed their fighting spirit to come from behind twice against Borussia Dortmund in the Revierderby last weekend, too, with second-half strikes from Marius Bulter and Kenan Karaman claiming a crucial point for their team to delight the home fans in attendance at Veltins-Arena.

Despite Augsburg's strong home form in recent times, Reis will fancy his side's chances of maintaining their unbeaten run at the very least on Saturday, with at least a point required if they are to have a chance of moving outside of the automatic relegation spots.

Augsburg Bundesliga form:

W

L

W

L

W

L

Schalke 04 Bundesliga form:

D

D

D

W

W

D

Team News

Augsburg are set to remain without Niklas Dorsch, Fredrik Jensen, Felix Uduokhai, Andre Hahn and Tobias Strobl due to existing injury problems, while Reece Oxford's potential involvement is doubtful due to a cold.

Star goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz has been suffering from a minor ankle knock in recent times, but he should be passed fit enough to start between the posts, with Ruben Vargas likely to come back into the hosts' starting XI after only being used as a substitute against Bayern.

Schalke, meanwhile, are expected to travel without Sepp van den Berg, Soichiro Kozuki, Dominick Drexler, Danny Latza, Jere Uronen, Tim Skarke, Sebastian Polter and Justin Heekeren, with the club's injury crisis showing no signs of slowing down.

However, Marcin Kaminski made his comeback from a back issue to be named in Reis' matchday squad last weekend, but the midfielder may have to wait until after the upcoming international break before appearing in a first-team match.

The visitors' only change to their starting XI from the 2-2 draw against Dortmund in the derby may be to introduce their goalscoring hero Karaman on the right flank at the expense of Mehmet Aydin.

Augsburg possible starting lineup:

Gikiewicz; Gumny, Bauer, Gouweleeuw, Iago; Maier, Engels, Rexhbecaj, Vargas; Berisha, Demirovic

Schalke 04 possible starting lineup:

Fahrmann; Brunner, Yoshida, Jenz, Matriciani; Kral, Krauss; Karaman, Zalazar, Bulter; Frey

We say: Augsburg 1-1 Schalke 04

The form book makes this a difficult match to call, with Augsburg winning each of their last four home matches, but Schalke generating an impressive unbeaten run in recent weeks.

As such, both managers may not be too disappointed with avoiding defeat, especially as that would allow the hosts to keep a healthy distance between themselves and the relegation zone. We can envisage a low-scoring draw.

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