The Expert: Five players facing favoured opposition on Matchday 26
The Bundesliga returns with a vengeance this weekend as Schalke host Borussia Dortmund in the 90th top-flight edition of the Revierderby.
Shinji Kagawa(13M, vs. Schalke)
Click here to tweak your Fantasy XI ahead of Matchday 26!
Please don’t accuse me of favouritism, Royal Blues fans, but I’m recommending a BVB player this week. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has an exceptional record against the Yellow-Blacks, but as he’s not guaranteed a place in Markus Weinzierl’s starting XI it would be foolish of me to recommend him. I’ll make it up to you next week, I promise…
Arjen Robben(14.6M, vs.Augsburg)
Kagawa has netted more goals against Die Knappen - four goals in eight appearances - than against any other top-flight club. The Japanese star announced himself on the Bundesliga stage with a brace in his first ever Revierderby in the 2010/11 season, before scoring in both last season’s league matches against Borussia’s fierce rivals. Schalke fans, if you sign Kagawa before Friday evening, at least you won’t be too downhearted if he has a stinker on Saturday!
Want more Bundesliga Action?
Bayern’s flying Dutchman isn’t the only Bayern star with a fine record against Die Fuggerstädter, but a five-year-old could tell you that Robert Lewandowski is a decent player! Robben has won on each of his half dozen appearances against FCA, playing a direct role in six goals (three goals, three assists). Having been part of the Netherlands team that suffered a shock 2-0 defeat in Bulgaria on Saturday, I’m sure Robben will be looking to make amends at the Allianz Arena. Won’t you, Arjen?!
Wolfsburg have become a much more solid side since Andries Jonker took the reins at the Volkswagen Arena at the end of last month. The Wolves have conceded just one goal in his three matches in charge, so why not snap up a VfL defender ahead of their trip to Leverkusen? Jakub Blaszczykowski, for example, has never lost at the BayArena (3W, 3D) and has started each of Wolfsburg’s last four games. Javier ’Chicharito’ Hernandez and Co. have struggled for goals of late, and I can’t see them scoring a hatful on Sunday.
Mahmoud Dahoud(12M, vs.Eintracht Frankfurt)
Speaking of teams struggling for form, poor Eintracht Frankfurt have picked up only one point from their last six league games, scoring just once in the process (vs. Freiburg on Matchday 23). Dahoud has played a part in four goals (two goals, two assists) in his four appearances against the Eagles. He missed Sunday’s defeat to Bayern through injury, but if he recovers in time he will fancy his chances of adding to his solitary league goal in 2016/17 at the Commerzbank Arena.
The five-year-old mentioned earlier could also point out that Modeste has scored a fair few goals this season! Yes, I know. But come on. Just look at the result in the corresponding fixture earlier this term! The Frenchman scored a hat-trick at the RheinEnergieSTADION on Matchday 9, and would have ended up with four had he converted a 31st-minute penalty. Overall, Modeste has registered seven goals in five league appearances against HSV. You know what to do…
Click here to get James 'the Coach' Thorogood's take on the Matchday 26 fixtures