Werder have already beat upcoming opponents Schalke 04 twice in the Bundesliga this season. The Green-Whites won 4-2 at home and 2-0 in Gelsenkirchen, where they will play once again tomorrow evening. A third victory is the goal.
Werder have already beat upcoming opponents Schalke 04 twice in the Bundesliga this season. The Green-Whites won 4-2 at home and 2-0 in Gelsenkirchen, where they will play once again tomorrow evening. A third victory is the goal.
“It’ll be a final for both teams,” said Florian Kohfeldt on the importance of the game against Schalke. Schalke are 14th in the Bundesliga after 27 games this season, but their league form will have nothing to do with the cup, and Kohfeldt is expecting them to fight to go through: “What position Schalke are in the Bundesliga won’t play a role. It’s always something different in the cup.”
Max Kruse, who is in wonderful form at the moment, insists that neither team is favourite for the game: “There aren’t favourites anymore in the quarter-final of the cup. Both teams are only two games away from Berlin. The game is just as important for Schalke as it is for us.” The trophy isn’t the only prize, with the DFB-Pokal champions also getting a place in the Europa League next season. Schalke could qualify through this method, but Werder have a chance of doing so through league position alone, currently sitting in sixth place.
It’s ten years since Werder won the DFB-Pokal. Mesut Özil scored the only goal in a 1-0 over Bayer Leverkusen in the final that year, and a win in Schalke tomorrow evening could have Werder fans dreaming once again.
