Schalke coach Andre Breitenreiter has no new injury concerns following the 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday. Jean-Eric Choupo-Moting scored for the second consecutive game and is expected to continue his role on the left supporting lone striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Midfielder Johannes Geis has been restricted to Europa League duty since being sent off against Borussia Dortmund but comes in for consideration having served his five-match ban.
Hiroshi Kiyotake has been the most influential player for Hannover this season scoring three times and providing four assists. The Japanese playmaker looks likely to be out for the remainder of 2015 and coach Michael Frontzeck is still deciding on the best replacement. Leon Andreason stepped into the role and scored the second in the 4-0 win against Ingolstadt last weekend and may keep his place in preference to Ceyhun Gulselam. Forward Mevlut Erdinc has not figured since coming off the bench against Hertha Berlin on November 6 and may have to wait to make another appearance after picking up a knock in training last week.
Possible Line-ups
Schalke: 4-2-3-1 formation: Fahrmann; Riether, Howedes, Matip, Aogo; Goreztka, Hojbjerg; Sane, Meyer, Choupo-Moting; Huntelaar
Hannover: 4-3-2-1 formation: Zieler; Sorg, Marcelo, Schulz, Albornoz; Sane, Schmeidebach; Bech, Andreason, Karamon; Sobiech
Statistics
Schalke have won 2, drawn 4 and lost 4 of their last 10 matches
Hannover have won 4, drawn 1 and lost 5 of their last 10 matches
Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Schalke have scored an average of 1.2 goals and conceded an average of 1.7 goals per game
Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Hannover have scored an average of 1.4 goals and conceded an average of 1.3 goals per game
There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Schalke's previous 10 matches
There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 7 of Hannover's previous 10 matches
Prediction
Schalke’s improvement under Andre Breitenreiter has suffered a drop off since the 2-1 victory over Hertha Berlin at Veltins-Arena in mid-October. The team has earned two points from the last five games and this will be seen as an opportunity to get back on track after a tough run of fixtures which included visits to Monchengladbach, Dortmund and Leverkusen in addition to a home fixture against Pep Guardiola’s unstoppable Bayern Munich side.
Hannover is one of the favourites for relegation this season but have surprised many pundits by picking up eight of their 14 Bundesliga points away from home this season. Buoyed by a convincing 4-0 victory against Ingolstadt following a good performance at Monchengladbach where they missed out on a point to a late winner from Rafael - this won’t be a pushover for the home side.
Hannover have lost on their last four visits to Veltins-Arena and the class within the Schalke side may mean the record extends to five defeats from five on Friday night. However odds around 3/5 are not attractive and we recommend looking at other markets for a bet.
Tips
Both Teams To Score at 4/5
Schalke win & Both Teams To Score at 23/10
Schalke to win 2-1 at 8/1
