Football Bet of the Day: Royal Blues to finally forget the blues

Baum to break the cycle of sadness

Schalke v Union Berlin
Sunday 18 October, 17:30
Live on BT Sport and Betfair Live Video

There was Dutch delight for us on Saturday night, as FC Twente did us proud with a 3-0 win at Willem II. We're guaranteed a profit for this week, and now we look to wrap up in style with a winner from the German Bundesliga. Schalke are in action on Sunday evening against Union Berlin, and as mad as it might seem to back a team that hasn't won in the league since January, that's exactly what we'll be doing.

Schalke are on an historically bad run of results, having not won any of their last 19 Bundesliga matches. New coach Manuel Baum hardly had the best start, as his charges lost 4-0 at RB Leipzig, but he has now had a couple of weeks to work on tactics. It's the tactical part of Baum's coaching that is his strong suit, and the theory is that the former Augsburg boss will make the team more stable.

Union have made a decent start to the campaign. They lost at home to Augsburg, but then drew at Borussia Mönchengladbach and hammered Mainz. However, they have won just one of their last six away games in the league, and have lost 11 of the last 17 on their travels. Their preparations were slightly disrupted by the actions of star forward Max Kruse, who filmed himself gambling at a Berlin shisha bar in midweek, breaking DFL hygiene regulations. Kruse will still feature, but the saga was an unwelcome distraction.

It's always going to be a leap of faith backing a team that hasn't won since January, but Schalke looked sharp in a 5-1 friendly win over Paderborn, a game that featured a hat-trick from forward Mark Uth. I'll back Schalke Draw No Bet here at 2.166/5.