Make up some ground

Preview to the Schalke game
Werder entertain Schalke in the Weserstadion on Friday night (Photo: nordphoto).
preliminary report
Thursday, 07.03.2019 / 17:16

Werder are in action on a Friday evening for the fourth time this season, and they haven’t lost yet. They’ll be hoping for a similar result against Schalke tomorrow, as they kick off matchday 25 in the Bundesliga. Werder head coach Florian Kohfeldt said it’s a game that “we have to win at all costs so that we don’t let the gap to above get any wider. But the team already know that, I don’t need to add anything extra.”

Previous meeting: Werder travelled to Gelsenkirchen to take on Schalke on matchday 8. The game began tactically, and neither team really had any goalscoring chances. Things changed in the 43rd minute, when Maximilian Eggestein scored a goal from distance to put Werder in front after good work from Max Kruse. Schalke pushed for an equaliser in the second half, but Werder’s defence remained strong. The Green-Whites then had an attack of their own, with Max Kruse finding Theodor Gebre Selassie on the wing. The right-back then played the ball to Maximilian Eggestein, who fired in a left-footed shot to get his first brace of his Bundesliga career. There weren’t many more highlights, and Werder came away with three points and a clean sheet.

Milos Veljkovic is likely to come in for the injured Sebastian Langkamp against Schalke (Photo: nordphoto).

The head coach on the game: Florian Kohfeldt is expecting a Schalke side that will “play as a team and with real fight.” Above all, the Werder boss doesn’t want his side to be blinded by Schalke’s recent games. “Everyone’s thinking about the match against Düsseldorf, but ten days before that they put in a great performance against Man City,” he said. Therefore, Werder won’t be changing anything in their preparation for the game. “We’re preparing for Schalke like we would any other opponent. We can get something and we know that. We’ve not lost in ten games and we can get something against any team. The game on Friday is extremely important for us,” he added.

Squad news: Sebastian Langkamp won’t be available for the game. The defender injured his shoulder in Wolfsburg and will be back after the international break at the earliest. Jiri Pavlenka looks set to be fit for the game and start in goal. Yuya Osako, who returned to team training on Wednesday, will be available for the Leverkusen game next weekend, but not for this weekend. “He’s now in strength and conditioning training,” said Florian Kohfeldt. Martin Harnik is back fit and a return to the squad for Fin Bartels is also “possible”, added the boss.

Maximilian Eggestein scored a brace against Schalke earlier this season (Photo: nordphoto)

The opponents: Schalke have had to change their expectations from this season. Following defeats to Mainz and Düsseldorf, new sporting director Jochen Schneider has had a difficult week. The side are difficult to predict at the moment due to their difficult situation, but their individual quality is obvious when one looks at the names in their squad. Schalke are still in the Champions League and face Manchester City in their last-16 second leg tie next week.

Key player: Daniel Caligiuri has been an important player for Schalke this season. The midfielder signed from Wolfsburg in January 2017 and has become one of Tedesco’s key players this season. Caligiuri has scored four goals and has four assists so far this season. He’s made a home for himself on the right-hand side, and he often tries to play at a high tempo, especially in one-on-one take-on situations.

The officials: Martin Petersen will referee the game. The last Werder game that Petersen took charge of was the 2-0 win against Wolfsburg earlier this season. His assistants are Tobias Reichel and Eduard Beitlinger, and Christian Bandurski is the fourth official. The video assists referees are Günter Perl and Mark Borsch.

 
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