Schalke under pressure. After the emotional win against Bremen, Schalke have three away games in the last four matchdays. One thing is clear: Schalke must pull off something away from home to stay in the relegation zone.

FC Schalke starts the final spurt of the Bundesliga completely emotional. After the late 2-1 win against Werder Bremen, they believe they can stay in the relegation zone.

But four matchdays before the end of the season, one thing is certain: the Königsblauen will probably only make it if they also celebrate a surprise success away from home, and the home match against Eintracht Frankfurt is already like a must-win.

But before that, the two matches at FSV Mainz (Friday, 8:30 p.m.) and FC Bayern München are on the agenda. And it will be difficult to score points in Mainz, as FSV have not lost any of their last seven games at home, and Mainz are still fighting for a place in the European Cup.

Schalke must not be interested in this, because they need a three-point win away from home, otherwise it will be difficult to stay in the league. After Mainz, there are games in Munich and Leipzig. A win in Mainz seems the most likely.

As more and more players are fit again. S04 coach Thomas Reis will only have to do without keeper Ralf Fährmann and Justin Heekeren. Soichiro Kozuki and Moritz Jenz will also be unable to play. There is great hope that the rest of the players will be able to play again, as the Schalker’s hospital is smaller than it has been for a long time.

Cedric Brunner is back in training after his shoulder blister and Tim Skarke is also back after his foot blister. Coach Thomas Reis emphasises with regard to his personnel: “Moritz is unfortunately out, Sepp van den Berg would be an option who can also play from the start. Tim Skarke and Cedric Brunner have done everything so far this week.”

Schaller will also have to look at the yellow cards. No fewer than five players will have to sit out the next time they receive a caution.

But that is still up in the air, what counts for Reis alone is the 90 minutes against Mainz. In the first leg, there was one of the few S04 victories in the current round.

To be more precise, one of two trebles in the first leg. The other was against VfL Bochum, where Schalke also won the second leg. That should now also work against Mainz.

But the opponents also have ambitious goals. Reis on FSV: “Their style of play has given them a lot of self-confidence. They have scored a lot of points. We were in a similar situation against Mainz, where we were up to our necks in water. We have to improve our away record now. To do that, we have to play with confidence at FSV. “