FC Krasnodar vs Schalke 04: Preview and Prediction

FC Krasnodar vs Schalke 04
UEFA Europa League – Group I
Date: Thursday, 20th October 2016,
Kick-Off at 18:00 UK
Venue: Krasnodar Stadium.

It is top of the table clash in Group I of the Europa League when Russian outfit Krasnodar welcomes Schalke on matchday 3 of the competition on Thursday evening, 20th October 2016.

Both Krasnodar and Schalke have won their opening two group games and jointly hold the top two positions in Group I of the Europa League. Krasnodar defeated Salzburg away from home 1-0 and thrashed Ligue 1 leaders Nice 5-2. The Russian club are unbeaten in six Europa league starting from qualification round of this season with 5 wins and a draw. They hold a 100% win record in three home matches this season and all wins have come at a comfortable margin scoring 12 goals to 3 conceded during the period.

While Schalke earned a narrow 1-0 away win at Nice and eased past Salzburg by 3-1. The Gelsenkirchen outfit did struggle in the Bundesliga at the start of the season suffering 5 consecutive defeats. But they showed their clash by thrashing Monchengladbach 4-0 just before the international break, which was followed by a 1-1 draw away from home at Augsburg. However, their two results in Europa league is totally opposite to their fortunes in domestic league.

FC Krasnodar vs Schalke 04: Head-to-Head Stats

Krasnodar and Schalke are meeting for the first time in a UEFA Competition. This will be also Schalke’s first ever competitive meeting with a Russian club.

Krasnodar on the other hand have met Bundesliga outfits on each of their last three Europa League group stage appearances – Borussia Dortmund on 2015/16 and VfL Wolfsburg on 2014/15. And they lost in 3 of those meetings and a lone win came last season against Dortmund at home. They did score in each of the 4 matches.

FC Krasnodar vs Schalke 04: Prediction

Krasnodar have already shown this season that they can play at the highest level with the 5-2 win over Nice on matchday 2. They are a side who can boast of a strong home record in the competition. Since the beginning of last season, they have won in 8 of the 9 Europa League matches at home. And the lone defeat was in the first knock out round of previous season against Sparta Prague. Schalke will come here with a fringe squad here as they have considerable ground to cover in Bundesliga, which may play right into the hands of Krasnodar.

As a result, the home side look good for a win here. And there will be plenty of goals as 8 of the 9 Europa League matches at the Krasnodar Stadium have seen over 2.5 goals.