week 20 - match preview
Slomka in confident mood ahead of Gladbach trip
Schalke first's first midweek game since the winter break sees the Royal Blues travel to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Wednesday evening. And despite being without a number of players, head coach Mirko Slomka is confident his side can pick up their second away win in succession.
Two players are definitely ruled out of the trip to the Borussia Park (kick-off: 2000 CET). Christian Poulsen saw his tenth yellow card of the season on Saturday and is suspended, while Dario Rodriguez pulled a hamstring and will be out for several weeks. "That's a great pity", said Slomka. "Darío was in great shape. We'll have to reorganise."
The question of who will replace them will not be answered until it becomes clear what effect a bout of stomach flu will have on the squad. Mladen Krstajic, Fabian Ernst and Zlatan Bajramovic all had to sit out training on Sunday, Gerald Asamoah on Monday. "Even I felt it a bit", said Slomka, for whom this latest development comes as "something of a blow". Nevertheless, "this is Schalke 04 and we have a good strong squad. We have some top-class players who can come in, players have been knocking on the first-team door just recently. They will now be given their chance and I'm sure they'll take it."
Slomka draws his confidence from the fact that against Dortmund on Saturday the Royal Blues again restricted their opponents to just a few chances and also created a number of promising opportunities in the first half. "We carved out several chances, we just didn't take them. If we can do the same against Gladbach, our confidence will return and we'll do well." The 38-year-old was particularly pleased with his side's set pieces in the first half. "They were much better and we almost capitalised. That has to give us confidence for Wednesday's match."
In Borussia Mönchengladbach the Royal Blues come up against a team who have suffered two defeats since the mid-season break. "They are badly in need of a win", said Slomka. "And they've got a few problems. Jeff Strasser is suspended, for example. We've got to try and exploit them."
The Schalke boss has had Gladbach watched twice this year, a 3-1 home defeat against Bayern Munich and a 2-0 reverse at Wolfsburg on Sunday. "They deserved to lose both times", he revealed. But that was no reason to be too optimistic. "They made a bold start in Wolfsburg with three strikers. Don't forget that Oliver Neuville is trying to force his way into the Germany team and is always a threat."
With so many players out, Sebastian Boenisch will train with the first team until Wednesday. If there is no improvement in the situation by then, he will be in the squad that travels to Mönchengladbach.
