FC Schalke want to take the next step out of the basement of the 2nd Bundesliga. On Sunday, the game at Holstein Kiel is coming up. That’s the situation before the game.
On Sunday (1:30 p.m.), FC Schalke 04 has to travel to Holstein Kiel. And actually, the Royal Blues wanted to travel to the far north as favorites.
But the table says otherwise. Kiel are third, while Schalke have moved up a little from the bottom of the table thanks to their recent win against Eintracht Braunschweig.
While Kiel have not yet found their feet in the league in 2024 (three games without a win) and have to replace seven players against S04, things are looking better for Schalke in terms of personnel.
Only Assan Ouedraogo and Leo Greiml are out, with Lino Tempelmann and Jusuf Kabadayı, for example, having to sit out recently. Ahead of 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. Five, six or seven players won’t be in the squad. I have to make decisions every week, but the two have shown 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 the team training in the coming week. Brandon Soppy, who will join Gelsenkirchen in the 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 of game time against SC Verl, which Schalke won 4-1. Geraerts in retrospect: “There were a lot of young players and I was very pleased. It served to give some players game time.”
Now it’s back to scoring points in Kiel, the coach has a high opinion of the opponent, who won the first leg in Gelsenkirchen 2-0. “They play a very modern football, they play freely. It will be a tough task for us. We have to look after ourselves, we have the quality and we are ready.”
Schalke 04 could play at Holstein Kiel like this
Müller – Brunner, Kalas, Kaminski, Murkin – Seguin, Schallenberg – Churlinov, Idrizi – Terodde, Karaman
Missing: Greiml (rehabilitation training after cruciate ligament rupture), Ouedraogo (syndesmosis rupture)
Threatening to lock: Murkin, Seguin