Borussia Monchengladbach winger Raffael. (Photo : Getty Images)
Contending squads FC Schalke (12-9-5, 41 points) and Borussia Monchengladbach (13-10-3, 42 points) will try to hold firm of a spot in next season's Champions League as they face each other at the Veltins Arena on March 18th, Friday in a 2015-2016 Bundesliga season match.
Schalke and the Borussians are only one point away from each other and competing for the fourth spot in the league table, which will give the owner the final qualification berth in the annual continental club tournament.
The top three finishers of the German top flight will directly qualify to the Champions League group stage while the fourth placer will be eligible in the said tournament's playoff round.
Schalke is coming off a 0-2 blanking from third-running Hertha Berlin at the Olympic Stadium last Friday, as reported by Goal.
Hertha forward Vedad Ibisevic scored the opening goal of the match at the 42nd minute while midfielder teammate Niklas Stark netted another one at the 65th to complete the shutout on André Breitenreiter's squad.
The loss snapped Die Königsblauen two-game winning run and four-game undefeated streak as they now settle at the fifth spot of the league table, only a point away from rival Die Fohlen.
Meanwhile, Monchengladbach routed bottom-three team Eintracht Frankfurt, 3-0, at their home field of Stadion im Borussia-Park last Saturday, as per ESPN.
Resident forward Lars Stindl drew first blood at the 36th minute to give the 1-0 lead to André Schubert's boys at the halftime break.
Die Borussen continued their scoring in the second half with a long range right-footed shot from Brazilian winger Raffael at the 53rd. Midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud connected with the hosts' third goal with 11 minutes remaining in the match to seal the win for the Borussians.
The win was a bounce back effort for the Foals after they were defeated by Wolfsburg, 1-2, in their previous match.
The predicted result is a tough 2-1 win for Borussia Monchengladbach over Schalke. It will be a close game from start to finish, but Schubert's men will prevail.
Schalke starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Fahrmann; Junior, Matip, Neustadter, Aogo; Geis, Hojbjerg; Schopf, Meyer, Belhanda; Huntelaar
Borussia Monchengladbach starting lineup (3-4-3 formation): Sommer; Elvedi, Christensen, Nordtveit; Johnson, Dahoud, Xhaka, Hinteregger; Hazard, Stindl, Raffael
