Teams | November 2, 2013 at 11:19 AM
Schalke are coming!
Schalke are coming!
Matchday 11 sees Hertha BSC entertain Schalke and their former Berlin star Kevin-Prince Boateng.
Berlin - On Saturday (02.11.13, 3.30 pm) Hertha BSC welcome FC Schalke 04 to the Olympic stadium in the nation's capital for an eagerly-anticipated Bundesliga matchday 11 clash. The club announced this week that until the day before the game 62,000 tickets had been sold. That could mean that a crowd approaching 70,000 could be in attendance. After playing well recently, especially in the 2-3 defeat away to triple winners Bayern Munich last time out, the capital city side take on Schalke brimming with confidence. Former Hertha and AC Milan man Kevin-Prince Boateng returns with Schalke to his home town, which adds a little extra spice to what promises to be an interesting clash.
At the pre-match press conference held in Berlin, home boss Jos Luhukay announced that he has all of his players available for selection, with the exception of Alexander Baumjohann, who is still sidelined with a knee injury. The Hertha coach is hoping for "fantastic support" from a bumper crowd. Luhukay knows how strong Champions League participants Schalke are. He told the media: "We hope to force our game on them to ensure that our success continues." The 50 year old Dutchman was full of praise for his players. Luhukay: "The team have been ambitious and willing from the opening game to matchday 10. I have a good feeling after a good week of training." Despite that confidence, Luhukay knows that every top flight game is a real challenge for his recently-promoted side. He added: "A major strength of ours is our readiness to play when called upon. For that you need character which in turn helps you deal with setbacks."
Luhukay sees Schalke's quality up front. Saturday's visitors are without seven men through injury
To find proof of the character of the team you only have to look at the points that Hertha have collected after going behind (Nürnberg, Freiburg, Mainz and Hannover) or the recent game against Bayern in Munich, where Hertha fought back to 2-3 after going 1-3 down, keeping the game open until the final whistle. Luhukay sees Schalke's qualities up front, without wanting to take anything away from their defensive strengths. He explained: "They are currently without two key players in Mit Huntelaar and Farfan. Their quartet of Kevin-Prince Boateng, Julian Draxler, Max Meyer and Adam Szalai are all capable of deciding a game on their own. Draxler, Meyer and Goretzka in particular play a young fresh and fearless game. Berlin is looking forward to one of their players in particular: Kevin-Prince Boateng returns to his home town club for the first time in seven years. The 26 year old has never played under Luhukay, but the Dutchman knows all about him. "Kevin is a highly respected player with lots of quality and brings experience from playing abroad to the table. He is a class act and I wish him success this season", said Luhukay, before adding with a broad grin "but not on Saturday!"
Schalke coach Jens Keller is without the following players through injury: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Jefferson Farfán, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Marco Höger, Anthony Annan, Sead Kolasinac and Chinedu Obasi. Kevin-Prince Boateng has resumed full first team training after a knee problem and is expected to start against his former club confirmed Keller at the press conference, before adding that his side's fortunes are not solely dependant on Boateng. Keller: "I wouldn't say that. He is an important player and we are glad to have him at our club. But we turned the Braunschweig game and our cup match around without him in the team. But we are glad when he is able to play." After last placed Braunschweig, Schalke have the worst defensive record in the Bundesliga, having conceded 22 times in 10 games so far. That is of course a worry for the Gelsenkirchen-based side. Keller again: "We are making too many individual mistakes and wrong decisions. The whole team doesn't work against the ball as they should. When two or three players fail to do so life becomes tough."
Keller: "Hertha deservedly collect their points through huge effort and team spirit"
Germany shooting star Julian Draxler is a youngster out of form at the moment. Keller is confidence that the 20 year old is due for an upsurge in form. The Schalke coach: "Julian is an intelligent player with a healthy level of confidence. He is not satisfied with his current form which is a good thing. It allows his to approach the situation in a self-critical way. He is so mentally strong that he will emerge from the problem without falling apart." Keller than went on to find words of praise for Saturday’s opponents: "You have to say that Hertha have had a good season so far. They have not conceded many goals, they are a very tight unit. They haven't won their points with luck, but far more through huge effort and team spirit. They have done a great job up to now."
Possible line-ups:
Hertha BSC: Kraft - Pekarik, Langkamp, Lustenberger, van den Bergh - Skjelbred, Hosogai - Allagui/Cigerci, Ben-Hatira, Schulz - Ramos
Schalke: Hildebrand - Uchida, Matip, Höwedes, Aogo - Neustädter, Jones - Clemens, Boateng, Draxler - Szalai
At the pre-match press conference held in Berlin, home boss Jos Luhukay announced that he has all of his players available for selection, with the exception of Alexander Baumjohann, who is still sidelined with a knee injury. The Hertha coach is hoping for "fantastic support" from a bumper crowd. Luhukay knows how strong Champions League participants Schalke are. He told the media: "We hope to force our game on them to ensure that our success continues." The 50 year old Dutchman was full of praise for his players. Luhukay: "The team have been ambitious and willing from the opening game to matchday 10. I have a good feeling after a good week of training." Despite that confidence, Luhukay knows that every top flight game is a real challenge for his recently-promoted side. He added: "A major strength of ours is our readiness to play when called upon. For that you need character which in turn helps you deal with setbacks."
Luhukay sees Schalke's quality up front. Saturday's visitors are without seven men through injury
To find proof of the character of the team you only have to look at the points that Hertha have collected after going behind (Nürnberg, Freiburg, Mainz and Hannover) or the recent game against Bayern in Munich, where Hertha fought back to 2-3 after going 1-3 down, keeping the game open until the final whistle. Luhukay sees Schalke's qualities up front, without wanting to take anything away from their defensive strengths. He explained: "They are currently without two key players in Mit Huntelaar and Farfan. Their quartet of Kevin-Prince Boateng, Julian Draxler, Max Meyer and Adam Szalai are all capable of deciding a game on their own. Draxler, Meyer and Goretzka in particular play a young fresh and fearless game. Berlin is looking forward to one of their players in particular: Kevin-Prince Boateng returns to his home town club for the first time in seven years. The 26 year old has never played under Luhukay, but the Dutchman knows all about him. "Kevin is a highly respected player with lots of quality and brings experience from playing abroad to the table. He is a class act and I wish him success this season", said Luhukay, before adding with a broad grin "but not on Saturday!"
Schalke coach Jens Keller is without the following players through injury: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Jefferson Farfán, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Marco Höger, Anthony Annan, Sead Kolasinac and Chinedu Obasi. Kevin-Prince Boateng has resumed full first team training after a knee problem and is expected to start against his former club confirmed Keller at the press conference, before adding that his side's fortunes are not solely dependant on Boateng. Keller: "I wouldn't say that. He is an important player and we are glad to have him at our club. But we turned the Braunschweig game and our cup match around without him in the team. But we are glad when he is able to play." After last placed Braunschweig, Schalke have the worst defensive record in the Bundesliga, having conceded 22 times in 10 games so far. That is of course a worry for the Gelsenkirchen-based side. Keller again: "We are making too many individual mistakes and wrong decisions. The whole team doesn't work against the ball as they should. When two or three players fail to do so life becomes tough."
Keller: "Hertha deservedly collect their points through huge effort and team spirit"
Germany shooting star Julian Draxler is a youngster out of form at the moment. Keller is confidence that the 20 year old is due for an upsurge in form. The Schalke coach: "Julian is an intelligent player with a healthy level of confidence. He is not satisfied with his current form which is a good thing. It allows his to approach the situation in a self-critical way. He is so mentally strong that he will emerge from the problem without falling apart." Keller than went on to find words of praise for Saturday’s opponents: "You have to say that Hertha have had a good season so far. They have not conceded many goals, they are a very tight unit. They haven't won their points with luck, but far more through huge effort and team spirit. They have done a great job up to now."
Possible line-ups:
Hertha BSC: Kraft - Pekarik, Langkamp, Lustenberger, van den Bergh - Skjelbred, Hosogai - Allagui/Cigerci, Ben-Hatira, Schulz - Ramos
Schalke: Hildebrand - Uchida, Matip, Höwedes, Aogo - Neustädter, Jones - Clemens, Boateng, Draxler - Szalai