week 1 - match preview
Doubt over Lovenkrands ahead of season opener
The Royal Blues kick off their 39th Bundesliga season with a home game against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday (1530 CET). Long-term casualty Christian Pander is the only player definitely ruled out of the clash against the Hessian side. So head coach Mirko Slomka has practically a full squad to choose from, allowing him to leave out two of his best performers last season.
Mladen Krstajic and Rafinha will not feature in his 18-man squad. The Serb defender broke his forearm at the World Cup, while the Brazilian ruptured a ligament in his right ankle at the beginning of pre-season. Both resumed full training a few days ago, but according to Slomka they are not fully match fit. "If they were in the squad, they would lose one and a half days of training. But now they can use the sessions to work on their deficits."
The decision can certainly be interpreted as a vote of confidence for the back four that played the majority of pre-season. Captain Marcelo Bordon and Darío Rodríguez in the centre of defence and the two full-backs Levan Kobiashvili (left) and Gustavo Varela (right) left a good impression in every game and enjoy the full trust of the Schalke boss, who plans to go with the formation he used in the friendly against Girondins Bordeaux in Baunatal.
Just one player from that starting line-up is in doubt. Peter Lovenkrands tweaked a muscle in Tuesday's friendly against MSV Duisburg, but Slomka hasn't given up hope of fielding the man signed from Rangers during the close season. The Dane underwent a fitness test with rehab coach Dr Christos Papadopoulos on Thursday. "He's set to train with the team on Friday and if it goes OK he'll play. I'm assuming he'll be fit, but things can always change over night", said Slomka.
The situation is less hopeful as regards Soren Larsen, who sustained a similar injury to his Danish compatriot on Wednesday. Larsen might need an extra day to get fit. On Thursday he was unable to do any running and was forced to train in the pool. "I have serious doubts that he'll be fit in time", admitted Slomka.
Frankfurt are a side who need to be taken "very seriously", added the Schalke boss, who has a lot of respect for their strike force. "In Michael Thurk they have added a quality striker. He and Ioannis Amanatidis are among the league's top strike pairings."
Although Eintracht coach Friedhelm Funkel experimented a lot during pre-season, there was only one question on Slomka's mind: will Sotirios Kyrgiakos be playing? This notwithstanding, the 38-year-old emphasised the position going into the game: "We're playing at home in front of our fans. We intend to play our own game rather than wait and see what Frankfurt do."
