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.