Hanover 96 – Schalke 04

In the central match of the round of the Second Bundesliga, the hosts will celebrate victory.

The central match of the next game day will take place in Hanover. The local club has started the new season of the Second Bundesliga better than any other, but it has gradually begun to slip down the league table. The last round brought another disappointment for the 'reds' in the form of a draw with Greuther Fürth. However, in the eyes of their home fans, the situation can easily be remedied with a victory over their direct competitor for promotion. Schalke 04, unlike their upcoming opponent, approached the start of the new season far from being favoured in the division. The club's management did not take any definitive measures in the transfer market to strengthen the squad, but they did change the head coach to Austrian specialist Miron Muslic. The beginning of the current Second Bundesliga campaign has brought quite a bit of positivity to the 'miners', and their second place in the league table has prompted the club management to reconsider the level of ambition for the season. Bookmakers have declared the home side as the favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.89 for their victory. Hanover has made a brilliant start to the new season. From the first to the fourth round, the 'reds' did not drop any points. And none of the opponents during this period can be called weak. However, in September and October, the 'reds' did not demonstrate championship ambitions. First, they suffered a heavy defeat at home to the capital's Hertha (0:3), and then they could only bring back one point from the field of Dynamo Dresden (2:2). After a single victory in a month and a half, which came at the expense of a match against Arminia (3:1), they faced the aforementioned setback in Fürth (2:2). Nonetheless, Hanover will welcome the guests from Gelsenkirchen with warm memories. Last season, the 'reds' won both encounters against Schalke: 1:0 at home, 2:1 away. Schalke themselves had a three-match winning streak. In less than a month, the 'miners' defeated Magdeburg, Greuther Fürth, and Arminia. In such circumstances, the break for national team matches was definitely undesirable for them. After the two-week pause in September, Schalke could not regain their focus for the first match, which they lost at home to Holstein Kiel. Let’s bet that the guests will stumble in Hanover.