Our prediction for this Bundesliga match:
Sunday’s football game between Koln and Schalke will bring down the curtain on day 1 of the new Bundesliga campaign. The Billy Goats suffered a shocking loss to Regensburg in their DFB Pokal opener, but they are surely capable of matching the newcomers in front of home fans. There are no injury worries in the home team, and there is every chance experienced attacker Anthony Modeste will continue to lead the line for the hosts.
Die Schwaben, on the other hand, rolled over Bremer 5-0 in the German Cup at the weekend, but they want to impress on their return to the Bundesliga as well. However, Koln are a real force to be reckoned with at home, which is probably the main reason why we are going to put our money on draw. Schalke head coach Frank Kramer should have a full squad to choose from.
Highlighted Player (Jonas Hector):
Jonas Hector is a product of Koln’s youth school. The left back was born on 27 May, 1990 in Saarbrucken and he began his youth career at SV Auersmacher. In 2010 he joined FC Koln and he made 63 league appearances for the reserve team between 2010 and 2013. Ever since he made his debut for the senior team on 27 August, 2012 he has been playing regularly for the Billy Goats and he certainly helped the team return to Bundesliga at the end of the 2013/2014 campaign.
Jonas Hector made his Germany debut on 14 November, 2014 in a 4-0 win over Gibraltar. The left-footed defender scored his first goal for the German national team on 29 March, 2016 in a 4-1 victory over Italy in Munich.
Hector represented his homeland at the 2016 European Championship finals in France and he scored the winner from the penalty spot in the quarter-final against Italy. Hector is capable of playing as a midfielder as well.
Highlighted Team (Schalke):
Schalke 04 are a professional football club founded in 1904. Die Knappen (The Miners) compete in German Bundesliga and they have won seven domestic titles. Schalke have clinched five German Cup trophies as well, while lifting the UEFA Cup title in 1997. The German club defeated Italian side Inter on penalties in the title game and that was the last time the final of the competition was played in a two-legged format.
Schalke 04 play their home matches at Veltins-Arena, the stadium that has been the home of the team since 2001. The capacity of Veltins-Arena is 62,271. It is well known that Borussia Dortmund are Schalke’s main rivals and the Ruhy neighbours face each other in the Revierderby.
The likes of Klaus Fichtel (477), Norbert Nigbur (355), Rolf Russmann (304), Klaus Fischer (295), Olaf Thon (295) and Herbert Lutkebohmert (286) are the players with most appearances for die Knappen. The colour of Schalke’s home kit is blue.