Anticipation is mounting for the second division top match between Schalke 04 and SC Paderborn – and not just in the camps of both clubs.

In the 2nd Bundesliga, all eyes are on Gelsenkirchen this Friday evening. FC Schalke 04 welcomes SC Paderborn for the top match (6:30 p.m./Sky).

The top spot in the table, currently held by the East Westphalians, is at stake. The Royal Blues are one point behind the leaders.

Anticipation is high – not only in the camps of both clubs, but also beyond the club boundaries. League rivals 1. FC Kaiserslautern are making adjustments to their match day preparations due to the Schalke game. Captain Marlon Ritter is not only a key player at FCK, but also an ardent Schalke fan. And Ritter does not want to miss the top second division match under any circumstances. 1. FC Kaiserslautern is traveling to Braunschweig earlier

To ensure that Ritter can be in front of the TV on time on Friday evening, Kaiserslautern quickly changed its plans for traveling to its own away game at Eintracht Braunschweig on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m.). “It was very important to Marlon Ritter to leave early. Schalke is playing on Friday evening, and he wants to watch that,“ coach Torsten Lieberknecht explained to SWR. ”To accommodate Marlon,” the coach moved the final training session from 11 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. so that the Kaiserslautern team could set off for Braunschweig a little earlier. “We’ll watch it as normal, just like always,” said Lieberknecht. The coach is also likely to be watching very closely. After all, Schalke and Paderborn are two direct rivals facing each other. FCK is currently in sixth place in the table and not far from the top.

For Ritter, it is a special game in several respects. Born in Essen, he spent several years as a youth player at the Knappenschmiede academy. But he also has a connection to SC Paderborn. Ritter made 65 appearances for the club between 2017 and 2020 and was part of their march from the 3rd division to the Bundesliga.

He made it clear that his heart beats for the Royal Blues on the second matchday of this season. The 31-year-old scored the winning goal in Kaiserslautern’s 1-0 victory over Schalke. However, he was noticeably restrained in his celebrations. He revealed afterwards that he was still “a bit of a Schalke fan.” “I spent my entire youth there and owe a lot to the club.”