David Letterman may not be on the pitch, but Schalke 04 are: their Bundesliga comeback begins on Sunday evening away to Augsburg at the WWK Arena after three years outside the top flight. The opener gives Miron Muslic an immediate read on whether a title-winning promotion side can carry lower-division control into a tougher away setting.
Schalke return as 2. Bundesliga champions on 70 points, and they paired that finish with the best defensive record across Germany's top three divisions last season. That is the useful number here: they were hard to break down when the margins were smaller, yet the Bundesliga has already punished them on the road, where they have won just two of their last 45 away matches.
Edin Dzeko and the away problem
Edin Dzeko arrives with a sharp recent line of his own, scoring twice in Schalke's DFB-Pokal win over Hallescher last weekend. The 40-year-old is set to become the fourth-oldest player in Bundesliga history, and he scored six times in 11 appearances last season. For Schalke, that gives Muslic a striker whose output can change a game quickly, even as the wider away record still hangs over the squad.
Manuel Baum is taking Augsburg into their 16th consecutive Bundesliga campaign after being handed a two-year contract and helping save the side last season. He first returned in December as an interim replacement for Sandro Wagner, then stayed on after Augsburg moved on with a major overhaul: as many as 16 players departed, the club generated serious funds from the sales of Dimitris Giannoulis, Keven Schlotterbeck and Cedric Zesiger, and Rodrigo Ribeiro arrived for more than £4m as the biggest summer investment.
Augsburg's rebuilt squad
Michael Gregoritsch also stayed part of the picture after his loan spell was made permanent, and he finished last season as Augsburg's leading scorer with six goals. Augsburg opened this campaign with a 2-0 victory over Energie Cottbus in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, so they arrive with a cleaner injury picture and a match rhythm Schalke have not yet built.
That leaves the first Bundesliga night of the season as a direct test of whether Schalke's promotion form means anything away from home. If the 70-point champions can carry their defensive shape into the WWK Arena, they will have a platform; if not, the old away problem starts again immediately.
