FC Schalke 04 will host TSG Hoffenheim on Friday evening. This is how the record looks in the duels between the two clubs.

In the home match against TSG Hoffenheim, FC Schalke 04 is under pressure. After three defeats in a row, the mood at the sixteenth-placed club is close to rock bottom. Coach Frank Kramer is being criticised, and there is already speculation about a possible exit in the event of another defeat.

Due to the harmless performances of the Königsblauen recently, it is obvious that the guests from Sinsheim are favourites going into the match. Although 1899 remained winless three times in a row, thanks to a strong start, the gap to third place is only two points.

So there is little to be said for Schalke. But one thing does: the record against TSG. Of 14 home games against Hoffenheim, the Knappen have lost only four. Schalke won eight games, plus two draws. With 29:17, the goal difference from the duels is clearly in favour of the Gelsenkircheners.

Even in the relegation season, when almost nothing went right, S04 beat the Kraichgauer in their own arena. The final score was 4:0, Schalke celebrated their first win of the season and ended their winless streak of 30 games in a row. At the same time, Matthew Hoppe’s star was rising. The then young striker scored a treble in only his fifth Bundesliga appearance. At the end of the season, he was sold to RCD Mallorca and brought a transfer fee of 3.5 million euros into the club’s coffers.

Valuable income for the Schalkers, who have made a number of losing deals with players in recent years – including a duo who will return to the arena on Friday. Both Sebastian Rudy (15m) and Ozan Kabak (16m) were once signed for large sums but turned out to be disappointments at Schalke.

Rudy initially moved back to his former club on loan after just one season at Schalke. A little over a year ago, the Hoffenheim record player (312 appearances) finally moved to TSG – free of charge. Defender Kabak left for the Kurpfalz before the current season. After all, Schalke collected a sum in the mid-single-digit millions for the 22-year-old Turk, who is set under coach André Breitenreiter.

The coach will also meet his former employer on Friday. He had taken over Schalke for the 2015/16 season. But after only one year, the 49-year-old was released from his duties. In the process, he led S04 to qualification for the Europa League. “I came fifth at Schalke with the youngest team in the league and really cool football, but nobody was interested,” he criticised years later in Kicker. Via Hannover 96 and FC Zurich, his path led him to Hoffenheim in the summer.

By the way, in Breitenreiter’s last game in office, Schalke celebrated a 4:1 win – against TSG Hoffenheim.