Fortuna Dusseldorf vs Schalke Predictions

• Schalke are winless in their last nine Bundesliga matches, losing five and drawing four.
• Fortuna Dusseldorf have drawn three of their previous four home games.
• Both teams have scored in seven of Fortuna Dusseldorf’s 13 home league matches.

Schalke struggle after restart

Even though it was a resounding 4-0 loss, Schalke fans would have probably anticipated defeat against rivals Borussia Dortmund in the Ruhr Derby but the 3-0 loss at home to Augsburg at the weekend will have triggered alarm bells among the Gelsenkirchen club faithful.

Schalke allowed their Bavarian counterparts nine shots and seven on target and once again looked toothless in the final third, having only two efforts at goal themselves.

The defeat to Augsburg not only represents their fourth defeat in five matches but they have also conceded 16 goals in that run of games, having been thumped 5-0 by RB Leipzig and 3-0 by Cologne before the Bundesliga’s hiatus.

Defensive inconsistencies costing Wagner’s side

David Wagner’s chopping and changing between three and four at the back has clearly had a detrimental affect on the defensive side of Schalke’s game.

They have also conceded 22 goals in their 13 away assignments, of which they have only won four, beating Paderborn, Leipzig, Augsburg and Werder Bremen.

But all of those wins came between September and November and they are on a run of seven matches without a win away from home.

While their problems at the back persist, they haven’t looked much sharper at the other end and the defeat to Dortmund made it five consecutive away games in which Schalke have failed to find the net.

Wagner’s men have, in fact, failed to score in 11 of their 27 league matches this season – no side have drawn blanks in more games with Mainz the next worse with nine games out of 27.

Their issues in front of goal are emphasised by the fact their top scorer is a midfielder – Suat Serdar – who has scored seven goals and is one of only two Schalke players to have reached the five-goal mark in the Bundesliga this campaign.

Resilient Dusseldorf could earn point

Fortuna Dusseldorf are in the thick of a relegation battle in the Bundesliga and are too inconsistent to back for a win but it could be worth opting for a draw in this one. 

Dusseldorf have avoided defeat in six of their 13 league matches on the road and their recent contests with Hertha Berlin, Mainz and Paderborn all ended as stalemates.

The reverse fixture between these sides in November finished 3-3 and, although there may not be quite so many goals when they are reacquainted at the Esprit Arena, they could again be difficult to separate.

Only Freiburg (2.38) and Wolfsburg’s (2.21) away games have featured on average fewer goals than Dusseldorf’s (2.77) but both teams have still scored in eight of the club’s 13 matches on the road.

Those figures suggest a solid bet in the correct score market could be 1-1, with that scoreline having featured in three of Dusseldorf’s matches and two of Schalke’s since the start of February.