week 24 - match preview
Slomka confident of breaching Hamburg bulwark
The Royal Blues have their next opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points this Friday. To do so they will need to beat SV Hamburg in front of another sell-out VELTINS Arena crowd. And this is exactly what Mirko Slomka's men intend to do.
"We aim to win and thus put our rivals, who do not play until Saturday, under pressure", explained the Schalke boss. Today there was good news for him on the injury front. Soren Larsen has recovered from a muscle tear and will be in the squad to face Hamburg. Levan Kobiashvili is also back from suspension, though it remains to be seen whether Mladen Krstajic will be able to play wearing "armour-plating" to protect his broken rib.
The Royal Blues will have to do without their suspended playmaker Lincoln for the first time since the mid-season break. "Our game plan will change, but there are always tactical alternatives", said Slomka. "And in Fabian Ernst, Levan Kobiashvili, Zlatan Bajramovic and Hamit Altintop we still have a quality midfield", he added, confident he will be able to compensate for the loss of the Brazilian.
Everyone in the Schalke camp is aware that Hamburg represent another tough challenge. After three wins in a row under new coach Huub Stevens they have climbed out of the relegation zone at long last. According to Slomka this can be attributed to the modifications Stevens has made: "They are playing very disciplined football and are much more defensive and dangerous on the break than in the first half of the season. So it's going to be difficult to create chances."
"Our task will be to force them into early mistakes that we can exploit to score what might be the all-important goal. I'm confident we can breach their bulwark, but we can't afford to get caught on the break", said Slomka.
Schalke's recent home record against Hamburg is a curious one. The Royal Blues comfortably won the first three matches at the VELTINS Arena (2-0, 3-0 and 4-1), but then went on to lose the next two 2-1 and 2-0. But this doesn't worry Slomka. "The situation now is completely different. We're top of the table and they're fighting against relegation. And earlier in the season we won 2-1 in Hamburg. If you look at it like that Hamburg ought to be worried about us."
