The mood at FC Schalke 04 should simply be outstanding: after ten match days in the 2nd Bundesliga, the Knappen are happily greeting from the top and seriously give the impression that the bitter chapter of German football’s lower house could finally be history again in the summer. However, before you can look forward to duels with the German record champions FC Bayern or district derbies against BVB, there is still some distance to cover. The next hurdle is Karlsruher SC, which on paper is a real stumbling block.
While the overall balance of the duel speaks slightly for FC Schalke 04, who won 20 games and only lost 16 (19 draws), things look rather bleak for S04 when it comes to the duels in the 2nd Bundesliga: the Royal Blues only won one of eight games against KSC. The game ended in a draw three times and the Royal Blues left the pitch empty-handed four times.
After all: The victory in question dates from February 2025, when Schalke won 2-1 in their own stadium. At that time, Janik Bachmann and Pape Meissa Ba scored for S04, with Leon Jensen equalizing in the meantime.
For the fact that it is on Saturday (November 1st, 1:00 p.m. in sport.de-LIVE ticker/highlights directly afterwards on RTL+) is going better for the Knappen, but there are some signs – above all the outstanding form of the Gelsenkirchen team.
FC Schalke celebrated its 5th league win in a row with a 1-0 win against Darmstadt. A feat that was last achieved in 2022 (from the 26th to the 30th matchday of the 2nd league). The last time they scored six three points in a row was in League 1 in 2018 (matchday 23 to 28). In addition, the Royal Blues have only conceded one goal in their last five wins (9:1 goals).
Further facts about the game Karlsruher SC vs. FC Schalke 04:
- In the most recent 3 games involving KSC, 5 or more goals were scored (3:2, 2:3, 4:1). This was the case four times in 10 league games (3:2 against Münster on matchday 1). If Schalke was part of the pairing, there were never more than three goals in 2025/26.
- League leaders S04 impress with their enormous sprint strength: 1707 sprints are only bettered by Hanover (1709). The KSC has 1467, which means 13th place in the league. The KSC players David Herold (225/4th place) and Lilian Egloff (214/7th place) are among the most active sprinters in the league. The best Schalke player is Vitalie Becker (197/11th place).
- Favorite opponent: Christian Eichner knows how to be successful against Schalke. Out of 6 games as KSC coach, he only lost 1 – with 3 wins and 2 draws – and achieved a points average of 1.83. Among the current second division teams against whom Eichner also played at least 6 games, he only has a better average against Greuther Fürth (2.3).
- As an active player, Eichner didn’t come into contact with any club more often than with FC Schalke (10 times, as well as Wolfsburg and Werder). In the 10 duels, the former left-back lost 6 times with 2 wins and 2 draws each.
- 5 competitive game wins in a row, like the current one with Schalke, is a novelty for S04 coach Miron Muslic.
- Schalke’s Nikola Katic has won 52 aerial duels so far – a league record alongside Arminia’s Maximilian Grosser. The best Karlsruhe player in these statistics is Nicolai Rapp in 19th place (28th).
- Moussa Sylla scored 3 of Schalke’s last 4 goals and is back in top form after a lull of 6 games without a goal. Only captain Kenan Karaman (32 competitive goals) scored more often for S04 in the current squad than Sylla (20 goals).
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