FC Schalke want to take the next step out of the Bundesliga 2 basement. The match at Holstein Kiel is scheduled for Sunday. This is the situation ahead of the match.

FC Schalke 04 have to travel to Holstein Kiel on Sunday (1:30 pm). And the Royal Blues actually wanted to travel to the far north as favorites.

But the table tells a different story. Kiel are third, while Schalke have managed to pull themselves out of the basement somewhat thanks to their recent win against Eintracht Braunschweig.

While Kiel have not yet arrived in the league in 2024 (three games without a win) and will have to replace seven players against S04, Schalke are looking better again in terms of personnel.

Only Assan Ouedraogo and Leo Greiml are out, while Lino Tempelmann and Jusuf Kabadayı, for example, were recently sent to the stands. Before the game, Schalke coach Karel Geraerts emphasized: “Both were very disappointed, which I can understand. We have 25 players, so you have to disappoint some of them. Five, six or seven players won’t be in the squad. I have to make decisions every week, but they showed a good reaction in training.”

While Greiml still needs some time after his cruciate ligament rupture, the coach hopes that Ouedraogo will be able to complete parts of team training in the coming week. Brandon Soppy, who can move to Gelsenkirchen this winter, “needs more practice. We are working to get him in the best condition as quickly as possible,” explained the Belgian.

He got his first minutes against SC Verl, a test that Schalke won 4:1. Geraerts in retrospect: “There were a lot of young players involved and I was very pleased. It served to give some players match practice.”

The coach has a high opinion of his opponents, who won the first leg in Gelsenkirchen 2-0. “They play very modern soccer, they play freely. That will be a tough task for us. We have to look at ourselves, we have the quality and we are ready.”

This is how Schalke 04 could play at Holstein Kiel

Müller – Brunner, Kalas, Kaminski, Murkin – Seguin, Schallenberg – Churlinov, Idrizi – Terodde, Karaman

Missing: Greiml (recovery training after cruciate ligament rupture), Ouedraogo (syndesmosis tear)

Suspensions threatened: Murkin, Seguin