FC Schalke 04 welcomes Hertha BSC on Friday evening for the relegation summit. This is how the personnel situation looks at S04.

Before the trend-setting basement duel against Hertha BSC, the personnel situation at FC Schalke 04 was primarily focused on Moritz Jenz. The winter addition was closely linked with the interim upswing of the Königsblauen. In the past two games, the 23-year-old defender had to pass due to injury – and Schalke lost both games.

At the press conference before the match in the own arena (8:30 p.m., RS-Liveticker), head coach Thomas Reis had good news for the Gelsenkirchen team. Jenz is fit for action, said the 49-year-old. “I don’t want to give him a one-hundred-percent deployment guarantee. But we are much further along than last week. He makes a very good impression.”

And in general, things are “looking good in the squad,” Reis further explained. “We have 25 field players in the squad, so I can finally make decisions.”

Against Hertha, one point and one place above bottom-placed Schalke in the table, the Knappen are under pressure. If they lose, they risk missing the boat in the fight to stay in the relegation zone. However, Reis does not want to know anything about a premature final. “The term doesn’t suit me. Of course, it’s an important game, we have the chance to temporarily climb to the relegation spot. But after that, we still have six more tasks to go. “

While the opponent from Berlin is winless for five games, Schalke has been waiting for a success for three games. Most recently, there was the disappointing 0:2 at TSG Hoffenheim. “We have analyzed some things, have been a little tougher with us in court. That’s where I got myself involved,” says the S04 coach in retrospect. “The team was very self-critical. It was clear that we missed some things that had distinguished us the weeks before.”

The harmlessness of the offense is currently seen as a major shortcoming. Schalke scored only one goal in the past three matches. Striker Michael Frey remained without a goal against Hoffenheim in his ninth starting eleven appearance.

Could he be ousted from the starting lineup against Hertha by Simon Terodde, the promotion hero who is retiring at the end of the season? “Simon is always a topic for the starting eleven,” Reis said. “We know that we haven’t scored many goals and I’m already toying with the idea of bringing him back from the start because he keeps proving himself in training. “