week 10 - match preview
Negative run against Hamburg next in line
After winning in Stuttgart for the first time in nine years last week, the Royal Blues are now targeting victory over Hamburg SV at the VELTINS Arena on Sunday (1730 CET). The last time that happened was in April 2004, when Tomasz Waldoch, Ebbe Sand, Fabian Lamotte and Michael Delura got the goals in a 4-1 win.
"After ending one negative run in Stuttgart, we now have the opportunity to end another. That's the target we have set ourselves going into the game", said Felix Magath at the pre-match press conference. They will be aided in this by the fact that Hamburg were in Europa League action against Celtic on Thursday. "We have to take advantage of the situation that Hamburg played in midweek and will still be feeling the effects of travelling to Glasgow", the Schalke boss continued.
Nevertheless the Royal Blues are not about to take the game lightly. "Hamburg showed they are up there with the best in Europe with their 1-0 win at Celtic", said Magath, pointing to the quality in the side. The north German outfit have also scored 20 goals in nine league matches, more than any other Bundesliga club. "Hamburg are not only finding the net, their build-up play to the goals has been excellent, too", the 56-year-old continued.
"And that's why they're a step ahead of us at the moment." On paper this translates into a two-point advantage over Schalke. "But I'm glad we're now meeting in the weekend's top game", said Magath, looking forward to the Bundesliga cracker. Schalke have it in their power to go top if they beat Hamburg and follow it up with a win over Leverkusen, but that is of no interest to Magath. "The table doesn't tell you much just yet. Two wins or two defeats can make a huge difference to a team's league position", he explained.
The Royal Blues have put themselves in a good position in the first nine games and so the task now is to defend it for as long as possible. Magath said: "We want to cement our position at the top end of the table and put some distance between us and the teams below. Although our attacking game is not one of our strong points at the moment, we have to force our opponents into mistakes by putting them under pressure."
