Schalke 04 threatened an inglorious record on Saturday. If the Gelsenkirchner do not win in the German Bundesliga against Hoffenheim, this means the 31st winless game in a row. So far, only the former top division team Tasmania Berlin “managed”. RB Leipzig wants to underpin its position as the first challenger to series champions Bayern Munich with a home win against Borussia Dortmund.
In Berlin-Neukölln this week there was fear of losing a record. “In contrast to Schalke, we set our record over a season,” stated the current President of the Tasmanian Islands, Almir Numic. At the club, the defeat series is “cult”. For Tasmania, the series of bankruptcies from the 1965/66 season have now paid off. Numic reported that the club had received a lot of media inquiries again recently. “We have been enjoying an enormous stir for a few weeks now.”
With the 3-0 defeat at Hertha BSC, Schalke also made a dozen Tasmania supporters unhappy last weekend in Berlin. The fans had cheered Schalke on Coubertinplatz in front of the Olympic Stadium. “Hands off our record” was written on the posters.
Trainer asked as a psychologist
If Tasmania enjoys the public, Schalke would like to do without it. The “Royal Blues” are bottom of the table with only four points from 14 games. Neo-trainer Christian Gross is in demand as a psychologist.
“The belief in relegation is there. I try every day with confidence and courageous decisions on the training ground and in discussions with the players to ensure that we go into the games positively, ”said the Swiss. But a sense of achievement is needed.
Leipzig wants to neutralize Haaland
Leipzig puts the fourth-placed Dortmunders around the again fit Erling Haaland the best defense in the league. In 14 games, captain Marcel Sabitzer and Co. only conceded nine goals. RB coach Julian Nagelsmann presented himself confidently before the top game. “I plan to win,” said the 33-year-old and justified: “Because we’re brave, because we’re in a good mood, because we have good statistics.”
Before the duel, the roles seem to be clearly assigned. “Due to the table situation, I see ourselves a little in the role of the hunter,” said Dortmund’s sports director Michael Zorc. Of course, Borussia are going to Leipzig “to win”. The runner-up has also recently improved defensively under Neo-Coach Edin Terzic and remained clean in two games. For Terzic, January as a whole is “pointing the way for the rest of the Bundesliga season”, which seems logical for other games in Leverkusen and Gladbach.
Haaland scored both goals in Dortmund’s 2-0 win in the last game in Leipzig. It is important to get the Norwegian under control, so Nagelsmann. He himself still has to do without new signing Dominik Szoboszlai. The former Salzburg player has to take a break due to adductor problems.
