If they lose the game, they’ll go straight to the second division. FC Schalke 04 is heading into the final game of the Bundesliga season that will decide whether it stays up or goes down.
FC Schalke 04 and RB Leipzig will face off in the 34th and final round of the 2022-23 German Bundesliga season at Red Bull Arena on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. ET. Schalke currently sits in 17th place with 31 points, while Leipzig is third with 63 points.
Schalke is literally teetering on the edge of a cliff. They sit in 17th place, directly above the relegation zone, heading into the final game. After winning the second division last season and going straight to the top flight, Schalke is in danger of being relegated again this season after a year. However, there is hope. With four teams in the relegation zone, the standings could easily change depending on the outcome of the final game.
Schalke need every point they can get in their final game. The Bundesliga follows a system where the 17th and 18th place finishers are relegated straight away, while the 16th place finishers play a relegation playoff. If Schalke, currently 17th in the league, earns a point in the final game and Bochum, currently 16th, loses by more than two points, they will move up to 16th and at least be able to participate in the relegation playoffs. If they lose, they’ll stay in 17th place and head straight to the drop zone.
Of course, Schalke will be aiming to stay up, not even in the relegation playoffs. That means they must win against Leipzig. A victory won’t guarantee them safety, but it will give them a much more favorable position. Schalke currently have one less point than 15th-place Stuttgart and 16th-place Bochum, and three fewer than 14th-place Augsburg. The goal difference with Augsburg is significant, making it virtually impossible to catch them. In the end, Schalke will have to contend with the remaining two teams, Stuttgart and Bochum. If Schalke wins their final game and Stuttgart and Bochum both draw or lose, Schalke will move up to 15th place and stay up. However메이저사이트, if either team wins, they will not be guaranteed to stay up. They’ll have to settle for 16th, the maximum relegation playoff position.
Schalke’s final opponents in Stuttgart and Bochum are also crucial, then. Their opponents are Hoffenheim and Leverkusen, respectively. Hoffenheim are virtually guaranteed to stay up, so Stuttgart should have an easier time of it. Bochum’s opponents, Leverkusen, on the other hand, need to defend their sixth-place finish in the league in order to qualify for the Europa League. Leverkusen will also be going all out against Bochum, so the pressure will be on them.
Schalke are in desperate need of a win. Before they can even think about the results of their rivals’ games, they need to go all out for the win. Their final opponent is Leipzig, who are third in the Bundesliga. They beat Bayern Munich in their last game and have been in strong form lately, winning four straight league games. However, Leipzig’s rise could be a good thing for Schalke. After exploding for points on their four-game winning streak, Leipzig have now clinched third place in the league. There’s a gap between them and second and fourth, so the final game won’t affect the standings. On top of that, they’ll be playing in the Pokal Cup final against Frankfurt on June 4, just over a week later, so they’ll likely be able to rest their main players. Schalke will need to capitalize on this and get the three points.
Schalke were at their worst in the first half of the season. They suffered a whopping 12 defeats in 17 games with only two wins and three draws. However, they rebounded in the second half, minimizing their losses and picking up point after point. The last thing anyone wants to see is a Bundesliga giant get relegated again in a year’s time. Let’s see what Schalke can do in their final match against Leipzig.