Schalke 04 will host Eintracht Braunschweig in the DFB Cup. This is what the opposing coach says about his staff and S04.

Eintracht Braunschweig have made a bad start in the 2nd Bundesliga with two defeats. So the first-round DFB Cup clash with FC Schalke 04 on Friday evening (8.45pm, RS live ticker) seems like a welcome change for the Lower Saxons.

“We are quite happy that we are now starting in another competition,” said coach Jens Härtel at a press conference the day before. “We have an absolutely traditional club as guests, the conditions are outstanding: Friday night, floodlights, sold-out stadium.”

However, it is also clear that if Braunschweig want to pull off a surprise against the Königsblauen, “we have to see that we put in a better performance on the pitch than we did in the first two league games,” stressed Härtel after the defeats against Holstein Kiel (0:1) and 1. FC Magdeburg (1:2).

What should not play into the cards of the coach, who took over from Michael Schiele this summer, is that Eintracht is plagued by personnel worries early in the season. Sidi Sané, who came from Schalke, tore his inner ligament during the preparation and will miss the reunion with his ex-club.

But it will be especially tight on the defensive side. The Schalke game comes too soon for Robert Ivanonov, who is scheduled to be the head of defence. Former Bochum player Saulo Decarli as well as Marvin Rittmüller and Danilo Wiebe are also in danger of dropping out.

Meanwhile, Schalke coach Thomas Reis can call on almost his entire squad, which according to Härtel has a “high individual quality”. It’s all about controlling Simon Terodde, the coach continued, but he knows: “Schalke is more than Terodde, they have a good team overall that wants to get back into the Bundesliga as soon as possible. They have a clear plan, both with and against the ball.”

But Härtel is not oblivious to the fact that the Gelsenkirchen side “allowed something every now and then”, especially in their opener against Hamburg (2:5), but also in their 3-0 win against Kaiserslautern. “Our clear goal is to advance one round. You have to believe in that a little bit. If we play to our potential, we are capable of posing problems for Schalke. “