VfL Wolfsburg vs FC Schalke 04
Football season is finally making a return to Germany, and the first week is bound to be an explosive opening salvo for many of the league’s most avid fans!
There are big matches to watch out for such as the Dortmund-Leipzig duel or the tantalizing Bayern Munich-Hoffenheim clash. While not all clashes will be as intriguing as these two battles, there’s enough excitement to go around!
Bundesliga Wolfsburg vs Schalke will be intriguing to watch for many fans of the German top flight. Wolfsburg just escaped relegation with a strong performance against Holstein Kiel and will be hopeful of better times this season with a positive result against the 2017/18 Bundesliga runners-up.
Meanwhile, Schalke will be coming off an impressive season and will be hoping to keep the good times rolling. However, things will be difficult for them as many of their competitors made some big reinforcements. They have to win this first game in order to get things rolling.
Which side do the SBOBET tips support? This piece will help you piece together a sensible answer.
Talking Points
Schalke is booked by our SBOBET Bundesliga 2018 expert to struggle in repeating their second-place finish this year, and the judgment is made with good reason. They experienced a drain in talent and haven’t made convincing business in the summer window to justify them ending this season at second.
Thilo Kehrer is probably the biggest loss for the Royal Blues. The 21-year-old was their second-most important defender, and he moved to Paris Saint-Germain this summer for €37 million. Leon Goretzka was another painful loss for the side, joining defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on a free transfer. Crystal Palace drew away Max Meyer on a free, also limiting their potential on the attack.
Domenico Tedesco did everything he can to patch up the holes on the roster made by these big departures. Suat Serdar and Omar Mascarell were brought in with the hopes of reinforcing the defence and midfield. Hamza Mendyl’s arrival from Lille will hopefully bring some width and reinforce Bastian Oczipka.
However, it doesn’t seem like Tedesco is happy with his done deals so far. With the football press reporting the club’s approaches for Joao Mario and Danny Rose, it does seem like they are planning to further solidifying the club’s defence and ensure the fact that they can do what they’ve done the past season.
Daniel Caligiuri will be the man that will try to pull things together for the club moving forward. With many of their star players gone, it will be up to him to keep the attack dangerous on the offensive end.
Meanwhile, there’s much to be desired for Wolfsburg. They almost dropped off the Bundesliga table after winning only six games and losing thirteen of their games. If it weren’t for their fifteen draws, they could have easily ended the season at the bottom of the table.
One of the only positives Bruno Labbadia can see out of the club’s poor outing was the fact that none of his key players last term was poached by other clubs. He was able to focus on bringing in players that will help the squad score goals and keep the backline strong against the best of Germany’s attackers.
Among the most eye-catching acquisitions were Daniel Ginczek and Wout Weghorst, purchased €14 million and €10.5 million respectively. The scoring talent of these two should be able to help the Wolves grab more goals than their disappointing tally of 36 last campaign. On the defensive end, they added Jerome Roussillon and Marcel Tisserand.
Ignacio Camacho will be relied upon for defence with his effectiveness in the air. Joshua Guilavogui will also be important for the club, as his performance in the midfield was important in keeping the club up.
History
While Wolfsburg fans hope that the Volkswagen Arena will be more than enough to turn the tables against their guests, the most recent Wolfsburg vs Schalke results suggest otherwise. Die Knappen have won five of their last six meetings, one of which was a depressing 4-1 defeat at VELTINS-Arena.
The other result was a draw in their first Bundesliga meeting of the season. Schalke easily dominated, with Nabil Bentaleb converting a penalty shot in the first half. It seemed like a sure win for the Royal Blues, but Divock Origi scored a wonderful goal at the death to split the points.
In terms of recent form, both teams will be coming in with good form. Wolfsburg drew with Norwich City, lost to Olympique Lyon, and convincingly won against Ajax and Napoli. Meanwhile, Schalke was equally productive in their preseason, garnering great victories against Hebei CFFC and Fiorentina.
Betting Tip
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VfL Wolfsburg vs FC Schalke 04 | Schalke 04 Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 2.38 |
| August 25, 21:30 (GMT+8) |
While everyone’s legs are still fresh and there’s yet a minute of football to be played, I still don’t see Wolfsburg getting it all together in time for the start of the season. Labbadia added a lot of talent and will take a lot of changes before these players can fully gel with the team and move the way he wants them to. Schalke should be able to easily take care of things away from home.
If you think Wolfsburg will be able to get one goal in front of the Royal Blues before buckling in the second half, Over 2.50 Goals offer an interesting option at 2.14. Correct Score of 1-2 is also tempting at 8.50.
However, if you believe that the Wolves will be able to take Schalke by surprise, a Draw at the 1X2 market is hard to miss at 3.10.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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