Preview: Schalke 04 vs. Werder Bremen - prediction, team news, lineups

Schalke 04 will be hoping to regain some pride against Werder Bremen on Saturday after starting their season on the wrong end of an 8-0 hammering by reigning champions Bayern Munich.

They will take heart from the fact that their visitors did not start their season well either, losing 4-1 to Hertha Berlin at home as Werder's poor form from last season spills over into this one.

Match preview

Schalke have seemingly fallen into a dramatic downward spiral from which they are yet to recover.

They were in and around the top four in the early stages of last season, winning nine and drawing six of their first 18 league games.

However, they then failed to win any of their remaining 16 Bundesliga fixtures, losing 10, and their opening-day defeat this season means they have still failed to win a league game since mid-January.

In fact, Schalke lost this fixture 1-0 in the midst of that barren run last season, a particularly poor result given Werder's own struggles.

However, it will certainly give the visiting team hope as they look to improve drastically on their own poor form.

Werder finished in the relegation playoff and only retained their top-flight status on away goals after a truly terrible season.

They managed just four wins from their first 23 Bundesliga outings, and only a late improvement - which saw them earn 13 points in their last nine fixtures - saw them finish 16th and eventually stay up.

They have started poorly again, but face a side in dire form and will hope to claim all three points and survive more comfortably this term.

Schalke 04 Bundesliga form: L

Werder Bremen Bundesliga form: L

Team News

Schalke head coach David Wagner has four players that he will be unable to call upon for this one due to injury.

Suat Serdar and Omar Mascarell are not available until at least next month, while Matija Nastasic and Salif Sane may be able to return to action sooner.

Werder boss Florian Kohfeldt has just three men on the sidelines, but included in them is a big miss for the club.

Star forward Milot Rashica is reportedly injured as he nears a move to what appears increasingly likely to be the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Kevin Mohwald and Omer Toprak are also unavailable.

Schalke 04 possible starting lineup: Fahrmann; Rudy, Kabak, Stambouli, Oczipka; Matondo, Schopf, Bentaleb, Harit; Uth, Paciencia

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup: Pavlenka; Gebre Selassie, Moisander, Friedl, Augustinsson; Klaassen, Eggestein; Chong, Sargent; Selke, Osako

We say: Schalke 04 0-2 Werder Bremen

While neither side started the season well, Schalke's incredible winless streak of 17 games in the league is difficult to ignore. Werder may well be able to cause an upset and take advantage of a side in something of a freefall, just as they did in May.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data