Our prediction for this match:
Hebei
Match Time & Date:
11/07/2018
01:35 PM
Prediction: 1-3
Schalke 04
Schalke square off against Hebei of China at the 2018 Club Super Cup. Die Knappen played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Southampton in their opener and, no doubt, they are eager to return to winning ways. The Bundesliga side aim to keep on raising their form in pre-season and we predict that they are going to give fans some cheer on Wednesday afternoon. Hebei CFFC, on the other hand, sit in the tenth place in the Chinese Super League standings at the moment and, no doubt, they are fully focused on the national championship. Schalke want this win more than Hebei and, taking everything into account, we are tempted to put our money on the German club. It has to be noted that the two teams meet for the first time ever on the international stage. Evgen Konoplyanka, who found the net in the draw with Southampton, is likely to pose a big threat for the opposition defenders.
Highlighted Player (Coke):
Coke began his professional career at Rayo Vallecano, playing 180 games for the capital club between 2005 and 2011. The pacey full back joined Sevilla in June, 2011 and he made a right decision when he moved to the fellow La Liga side.
The Spanish footballer, who is capable of playing as both full back and a winger, won three UEFA Europa League trophies with los Sevillanos (2014, 2015, 2016) and he made it to the Spanish Cup final in the 2015/2016 season with the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan outfit. Sevilla, though, failed to make life difficult for Barcelona in the title game. After spending five years in Andalusia, Coke signed a three-year contract with Schalke on 31 July, 2016 for a fee of €5 million.
However, before the start of the 2016/2017 Bundesliga campaign he suffered a serious injury in a warm-up game against Bologna. Speaking of his international career, Coke has one cap for Spain U16, but he has yet to make his debut for the first team.
Highlighted Team (Schalke 04):
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.
