Eintracht Frankfurt will face FC Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga to start the year. SGE coach Oliver Glasner expects a “complicated game”.

At the beginning of the week, Oliver Glasner was not at all satisfied. The reason was his team’s training performance before the Bundesliga restart against FC Schalke 04 (Saturday, 3.30pm, live in the RS ticker). “That has improved in the past two days, the final training was really good,” explained the Eintracht Frankfurt coach.

And so the Austrian’s anticipation finally rose. For a full stadium, a duel with “a great traditional club” and also the first three points of the year? “We want to start 2023 with a home win,” Glasner made clear.

On paper, the chances are good. After all, the fourth-placed team receives the last team in the table from Gelsenkirchen. “The standings are not interesting,” the 48-year-old stressed and added: “It’s about getting our game idea and energy on the pitch.” While his players are welcome to surprise him in a positive way, “my feeling is that we need a few games to get into the old shape. “

I don’t expect a deep opponent. It will be a complicated game

Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner on Schalke

If Glasner’s words are to be believed, the opener against Schalke could be a difficult task straight away. The guests from Gelsenkirchen have a “very physical team that plays fast forward”. His analysis is not only based on the performances of the Königsblauen. “Thomas Reis has always put us under a lot of pressure with Bochum and involved us in many duels. I don’t expect a deep-standing opponent. It will be a complicated game.”

Eintracht Frankfurt will have to do without centre-back Tuta and left-back Luca Pellegrini on Saturday, in addition to Marcel Wenig (broken metatarsal). “All the others are fit and made a good impression. “