FC Schalke 04 welcomes 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday. Here’s how FCK coach Dirk Schuster looks at the match.

After more than a decade, the time has come for FC Schalke 04 to play another competitive match against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. The last time the two teams faced each other was in the 2011/12 Bundesliga season. The Königsblauen came out on top with a 4:1 victory.

A look at the lineup sheet at the time shows how much time has passed since then. Lewis Holtby, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Raul and Jefferson Farfan scored the goals for Schalke. At Lautern, Christian Tiffert and Sandro Wagner were the strikers.

Now the traditional clubs meet again in the 2nd Bundesliga, which FCK was promoted to a year ago. And coach Dirk Schuster is looking forward to Saturday night’s clash (8:30 p.m., RS-Liveticker) full of anticipation.

“In this witches’ cauldron, we will also have sensational support from our fans. We are also aware of that with the Schalkers,” he said in a media round on Thursday. “Both sides have positive pressure, we want to make our contribution to an awesome evening of soccer. “

Schuster expects an “awesome game” and explains, “8:30 p.m., floodlights, sell-out crowd, millions in front of the TVs, prime time. We want to build on the performances we showed against big names in the league last season at Schalke and give them a hot dance. “

A good 6000 fans from the Palatinate are officially expected in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday evening. Good for FCK and coach Schuster: he has no absentees to complain about. Attackers Terrence Boyd and Ragnar Ache, who scored a goal in his debut against FC St. Pauli a week ago (1:2), are fit again. In addition, Jean Zimmer has served his red card ban from last season.

What does Schuster want to see from his eleven in Gelsenkirchen? “I expect a courageous and spirited performance from my team, to defend cleanly with discipline, to launch more offensive actions and to be determined in the direction of the opponent’s goal. “