2. Bundesliga preview: FC Schalke 04 vs. SC Preußen Münster | OneFootball

Schalke have firmly established themselves as the standout side in this season’s 2. Bundesliga under Miron Muslic. An unbeaten run of eight matches, including back-to-back victories, has propelled the Royal Blues to the summit of the table. They head into the weekend six points clear of fourth place, with another opportunity to take a significant step towards a Bundesliga return.

Their most recent outing saw them claim a crucial and hard-fought win away at promotion rivals Elversberg. Soufian El-Faouzi’s first-half equaliser kept Schalke in the contest, but the game tilted dramatically early in the second half when Moussa N’Diaye was sent off for a second bookable offence. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Schalke showed resilience and character, with Moussa Sylla netting the decisive goal to secure all three points.

Muslic, however, is taking nothing for granted ahead of Sunday’s clash: “We’re not going to change what’s brought us to this point. We need to perform in every game – regardless of who our opponents are,” the Schalke head coach insisted.

For Münster, the situation is becoming increasingly concerning. Despite back-to-back draws, they are now winless in five matches and remain rooted to the bottom of the table, sitting three points adrift of safety.

Their attacking struggles were evident once again in a goalless draw against fellow strugglers Greuther Fürth. Münster managed just three shots on target in a game they could ill afford not to win. With only two goals scored in their last five matches - while conceding 11 - their lack of cutting edge continues to undermine their survival hopes.

Head coach Alois Schwartz remains cautiously optimistic: “We mustn’t get tense or overthink things - we need to stay relaxed in front of goal. We have to be proactive, show courage, and maintain our discipline. If we do that and make the most of our counter-attacks, we can take something from the game.”

The reverse fixture ended goalless in November, with Münster holding on for a point despite playing much of the second half with ten men. However, history offers little encouragement - the visitors have not beaten Schalke since 1990.

Team news

FC Schalke 04: Edin Džeko, Nikola Katić, Tomas Kalas, Emil Højlund, Henning Matriciani and Finn Porath are all unavailable. Kenan Karaman and Mertcan Ayhan are expected to return.

SC Preußen Münster: Malik Batmaz, Simon Scherder, Luca Bolay and Antonio Tikvić remain sidelined. Oscar Vilhelmsson misses out through illness, while Joshua Mees is a doubt.

Predicted lineups

FC Schalke 04 (4-2-3-1): Karius (GK) - T. Becker, Ayhan, Kuruçay, N’Diaye - El-Faouzi, Schallenberg - Ljubicic, Karaman, Aouchiche - Sylla 

SC Preußen Münster (3-4-1-2): Schenk (GK) - Heuer, Koulis, Jaeckel - ter Horst, Preißinger, Hendrix, Makridis - Mees - Amenyido, Batista Meier