Stevens ahead of S04 clash: "The team wants success"

Huub Stevens on...

...the opposition:

Schalke have a young squad, with players such as Geis, Sané, Meyer and Goretzka - so it’s completely normal for the team to go through some rough patches in terms of form. But they’re a good team who play some outstanding football. It will be an extremely difficult game for us, but we want to take something from it. André Breitenreiter will definitely think up something to bounce back from their defeat against Augsburg.

...personnel:

Jens Grahl is not only still carrying an elbow injury, but has now come down with a cold. He won’t be available on Friday unfortunately. Steven Zuber will still be out with ankle problems. Kevin Kurányi has been able to take part in fitness training but is also not fit to play. Whether Pirmin Schwegler will be able to play is not certain - he is still suffering with thigh problems.

...the current situation:

I hope the win against Hannover has given the team some confidence. That’s important. But we mustn’t sit back and admire the three points. We’re still in the relegation zone, and I will give everything in order to change that.

We’re making small improvements every step of the way - even when we lose or we fail to get what we wanted out of a training drill. Sometimes you just have to take a few little backward steps in order to take a big one forwards. I see the team developing with every training session. This team wants success and that’s why they’re such a pleasure to work with.

Previous meetings:

The sides have faced each other 15 times – 14 times in the league and once in the cup. The record is very even, with each team winning five times, while there have been four draws. TSG won 3-1 away in the only cup clash so far. That victory came in December 2013, and Hoffenheim will hope for a repeat performance on Friday.

Opponents' form:

Fans in Schalke expect better than just one win from the last seven games. Even when the Royal Blues' manager André Breitenreiter didn't define a specific goal for the season, eighth place almost half way through the campaign is not going to satisfy the club and their fans. A negative goal difference and six defeats already go to suggest that all is not well at Schalke. All this, despite the fact that Leroy Sané has proven to be a breakthrough star this season, making his debut for the Germany national team.

Key battle:

Johannes Geis arrived in Schalke in the summer from Mainz. The Germany U21 international has established himself very quickly and has filled the role of the midfield dynamo in the Schalke side. Like many things in life, Schalke fans only really learned to appreciate Geis when he was missing. His foul on André Hahn was met with a five-game ban, and Schalke's results suffered without him in the side, dropping from third place to eighth in the table. It was not exclusively as a result of his absence, but it certainly played a part. The conclusion? You have a chance against Schalke if you keep Geis under control.

 

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