Preview: Bayern Munich host Schalke 04 at the Allianz Arena

Schalke 04 will look to claim their first win against Bayern Munich since 2011 when they visit the Allianz Arena.

Schalke 04 face their toughest Bundesliga outing of the season as they travel to the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening’s matchday 19 clash between the two German giants.

The reverse fixture was a rather one sided affair with the Bavarians, who were under the reign of Niko Kovac back then, claiming a 3-0 win in the Veltins Arena after an in-form Robert Lewandowski struck thrice.

Heading into the match, Bayern find themselves rooted at second place in the league, four points behind leaders RB Leipzig and holding a narrow lead of three points over their opponents of the weekend’s match.

Bayern Munich are returning to the Allianz Arena for the first time this calendar year after their 2-0 win against Wolfsburg at the very scene back in December. Hansi Flick’s men have been inefficient on their own turf this season giving the Knappen some hope, but the previous results certainly aren’t a great omen for the match.

The defending champions of the Bundesliga have won each of their last six matches against the outfit led by David Wagner and are unbeaten for nine years and precisely 20 outings against Schalke, who must not pay heed to the records going into this one.

As far as the team news is concerned, Schalke would be without the likes of Benjamin Stambouli, Salif Sane and Weston McKennie, whereas the hosts need to cope up with the absences of Javi Martinez, Kingsley Coman, Lucas Hernandez and Niklas Sule.

Manuel Graefe is the referee for this important clash as Schalke look to claim a victory against the odds against Bayern Munich in the match scheduled to kick-off at 18:30 CET.

What are your predictions for this highly anticipated clash between the two historic German clubs?