Bayern Schalke preview, the inconsistent Blues

Are they dangerous or not? When FC Bayern faces FC Schalke 04 on Saturday, it enters the pitch against a very inconsistent team. The Royal Blues are a real threat on paper, but they don’t always deliver.
Schalke, injuries and defending woes
Injuries: Santana, Uchida, Kirchhoff, Clemens. Höger, Aogo
Just as you think that Schalke gets going, they fail miserably. They are gaining pace domestically but they hit the wall in style against Real Madrid in the midweek fixture.
The Ruhr side had a number of injuries so far this season. Striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, defender Beneditk Höwedes, winger Julian Draxler, midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, defender Dennis Aogo and winger Jefferson Farfan have all missed action. They signed Jan Kirchhoff to improve themselves in defensive midfield, but he got hurt immediately.
Collectively, Schalke always looks promising. They have a good passing game, a lot of pace, as well as the ability to disrupt the offence with interceptions. Attracting players to send the ball to an unmarked man is one of their best skills. They are good on set pieces.
Kevin-Prince Boateng, probably their most important player, having moved back in central midfield with his robustness, passing and set-piece ability.
The Royal Blues are enjoying the rise of 18 years old playmaker Max Meyer, who has great technique and the ability to switch gears to dribble against defenders and deliver a killer pass. Julian Draxler could become one of Germany’s best wingers with the surgical precision of his shots. He reacts well when challenged with the ball and sets up passes. As usual, Farfan is quick on the right wing, with a good shot and accurate crosses. Huntelaar is a great striker with amazing shots and headers, but he spent a good part of the season injured. His finishing skills were missed.
What’s the biggest problem? Defending. Schalke spend most of their time in the opposite end but get trounced when protecting their own goal. As we saw against Real Madrid, speed kills them and they make a high number of mistakes. They’re not good when challenging for the ball. Defending against corners also is a problem, with poor positioning.
Höwedes has highs and lows, making coverage mistakes and lacking aggressivity. Felipe Santana is a decent defender, but he had problems all night long against Madrid. Joel Matip made several good plays, but he often had no idea what to do to stop Ronaldo’s dribbling.
Coaching has been an unstable position in the last few years and Jens Keller has struggled to make his mark, with lack of experience at the highest level. Yet, management was right to keep him and let him develop the team. But it is a highly beatable team.
Possible lineup
FC Schalke 04 (4-2-3-1)
Fährmann
Höwedes, Papadopoulos, Matip, Fuchs
Boateng, Neustädter
Farfan, Meyer, Goretzka
Huntelaar
Bayern, finally clear of injuries
Fitness: Müller, Shaqiri, Ribéry, Badstuber
The injury problem finally is gone. Xherdan Shaqiri, Franck Ribéry and Thomas Müller have all returned to training, making fitness their only problem. Holger Badstuber has been training and recovering in the last few weeks. Bastian Schweinsteiger is finally playing without ankle pain. We can cross fingers and hope that the team doesn’t get more injuries as the final stages of the season are slowly getting near.
Pep Guardiola should have more options as far as selection goes, with Schweinsteiger bossing the midfield again. Should he use Philipp Lahm in there? A statistical piece by Matthew shows that if he is rusty at right-back today, he should get playing time at that position because he is simply better there.
The recent (and finally declared) return to a 4-2-3-1 formation has marked the end of crazy experimenting. The priority at Bayern is consolidation. Make the team gel, fine tune the tactics and get ready for the big matches down the road.
Despite going into this game with a 19-point lead, getting all three points is important to clinch the Bundesliga title in mid-March. It would give Pep the elbow room needed to set up the same kind of rotation than Jupp Heynckes last year, keeping legs fresh for Champions League matches.
In order to win against Schalke, Bayern must make use of its wings. Schalke’s defending is poor against pace and quality passes. It isn’t a big threat on the counter. Keep the ball away from them with possession and short passing and breaking them down shouldn’t be that much of a problem. Pressing them when they have it is trickier since their playmakers are solid, but it remains manageable.
I think that the Reds can beat the blues, but I wouldn’t expect a blowout. A one-goal win would be satisfying.
Possible lineup
FC Bayern (4-2-3-1)
Neuer
Rafinha, Boateng, Dante, Alaba
Lahm, Schweinsteiger
Robben, Thiago, Götze
Mandzukic
Game details
Matchday: 23
Time: 1 March, 18:30 CET
Location: Allianz Arena, München
TV listings
Referee: Jochen Drees
On four yellow cards: Kroos