Preview: Schalke 04 vs. Borussia Monchengladbach

Two of the Bundesliga's chasing pack meet on Friday evening as Schalke 04 entertain Borussia Monchengladbach.

Both sides are well off the pace being set by runaway leaders Bayern Munich, but are right in the hunt for the Champions League places.

This is the third fixture in six days for each team following the resumption of the German season, and neither have been caught cold after the winter break.

Gladbach have picked up a maximum six points to consolidate third place in the table, recording 1-0 victories over Stuttgart and Freiburg.

Schalke beat Hannover by the same scoreline and yet holding Bayern to a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday was arguably a better result.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar missed the game in Munich as part of the six-game suspension handed to him for his reckless tackle during the Hannover victory.

The Dutchman's appeal has seen the ban reduced to four games, but he will still sit out the visit of Gladbach and games against Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen.

In his absence, Roberto Di Matteo could continue with just one up front, with Kevin-Prince Boateng the most advanced midfielder in support of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Julian Draxler is still sidelined by a thigh injury and therefore it could be the same team that matched Bayern which takes to the field at the Veltins-Arena, with Fabian Giefer deputising for Ralf Fahrmann in goal.

However, Bayern loanee Jan Kirchhoff is available again after missing the match against his parent club, and Marco Hoger is also in back in contention after a minor knee injury.

Gladbach could include World Cup winner and reported Manchester United and Arsenal target Christoph Kramer, and Granit Xhaka, who signed a new contract until 2019 this week, in an unchanged lineup.

Martin Stranzl is a doubt having suffered a head injury last time out and so Alvaro Dominguez is on standby for a recall. Branimir Hrgota should get the nod over Raffael as forward partner to Max Kruse.

The visitors have won their last three games against Schalke and another success will put a five-point gap between them and the Gelsenkirchen outfit.

Schalke:

Form in Bundesliga: WLWDWD Form in all competitions: WLWDWD

Possible starting lineup: Giefer; Uchida, Nastasic, Kirchhoff, Howedes; Sam, Meyer, Neustadter, Fuchs; Boateng; Choupo-Moting

Gladbach:

Form in Bundesliga: WDWLWW Form in all competitions: WDWLWW

Possible starting lineup: Sommer; Dominguez, Wendt, Jantschke, Korb; Johnson, Herrmann, Kramer, Xhaka; Kruse, Hrgota

Sports Mole says: 2-1