Borussia Dortmund winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan. (Photo : Getty Images)
Contending team FC Schalke 04 (13-10-5, 44 points) will look to snag a Champions League berth for next season as they face second-running squad Borussia Dortmund (21-3-4, 67 points) at their home field of Veltins Arena on Sunday, April 10th as the 2015-2016 Bundesliga season slowly comes down to a close.
Schalke is currently at the seventh spot of the league table, but is tied on points with sixth-placed Mainz and only a point behind fourth and fifth placers Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen, which makes every game in the season's home stretch crucial for all the said contending clubs.
At the fourth spot, Monchengladbach temporarily holds the fourth and final qualification berth for the European club continental tournament next season.
Die Knappen is coming off a crushing 0-3 defeat to middling squad FC Ingolstadt at the Audi Sportpark last Saturday, as per SkySports.
Head coach André Breitenreiter's side was unable to pierce the net of Die Schanzer's Austrian goalkeeper Ramazan Ozcan in the whole match while their opponents haul down three goals in the process.
German forward Moritz Hartmann started scoring with a penalty kick at the 29th before another forward, Lukas Hinterseer, doubled the lead at the stroke of halftime. Paraguayan striker Dario Lezcano sealed the win for the hosts at the 65th.
Meanwhile, the Borussians escaped with a 3-2 decision over lowly club Werder Bremen at the Signal Iduna Park also last Saturday, via Soccerway.
Following a goalless first half, things got heated up after the break with Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang breaking the ice at the 53rd off a brilliant assist by Armenian winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Die Werderaner fought back with two straight goals, courtesy of defender Alex Galvez and midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic at the 69th and 74th minutes, to grab the lead and give Thomas Tuchel's boys a scare late in the match.
However, Der BVB will not be denied of their third straight German top flight victory as Japanese winger Shinji Kagawa and Venezuelan striker Adrian Ramos caught fire at the 77th and 82nd to snatch the win away from the visitors and gain another three points in the overall standings.
The predicted result is a 3-0 romp for Borussia Dortmund.
Schalke starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Fahrmann; Junior, Matip, Neustadter, Aogo; Sane, Geis, Goretzka, Meyer; Di Santo, Choupo-Moting
Borussia Dortmund starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Burki; Schmelzer, Bender, Ginter, Piszczek; Castro, Weigl; Reus, Mkhitaryan, Durm; Aubameyang
