week 18 - match preview

Slomka targets marked improvement against Stuttgart

Mirko Slomka is putting the onus on his players ahead of the Bundesliga restart against VfB Stuttgart. "The cup defeat in Wolfsburg was a huge disappointment for all of us", the Schalke boss said. "So it's essential we draw the right conclusions."

"We were anonymous in the centre of attack", criticised Slomka. "We also lacked the killer pass up front. None of the things we worked on during the winter break were put into practice in Wolfsburg. We put a lot of emphasis on counterattacks in training, but we made far too little of them."

Slomka is focusing on two aspects: "We allowed Wolfsburg too many chances during normal time and we definitively need to be shooting more. Going into the cup-tie we were determined to keep a clean sheet. We almost managed it, but anything can happen in football - sometimes a set piece is all it takes and everything's wide open again."

The Schalke boss was unhappy with the performance of some of his players and this may be reflected in his team selection. "We'll be watching the lads very closely in the remaining training sessions before deciding whether the players who were handed a chance against Wolfsburg run out again against Stuttgart", he explained. "They all have the opportunity to put themselves into contention with some good performances on the training ground."

While Kevin Kuranyi will feature in the squad, it is unlikely Albert Streit will be involved. Definitively out are long-term absentees Mathias Abel, Christian Pander, Zlatan Bajramovic and Markus Heppke.

After being held to a 2-2 draw in a "brilliant Bundesliga opener" in Stuttgart in August, Slomka is targeting victory in the return. The main priority will be to keep the visitors' dangerous strikers at bay. "Gomez scored three in the DFB Cup. And in Marica he has a good partner by his side, so we cannot afford any carelessness at the back", said Slomka. "Stuttgart also have a lot of potential in midfield. We mustn't let them impose their game on us. We have to exert pressure ourselves and in this way force them into making mistakes", the Schalke boss demanded.

Slomka would be delighted if Ivan Rakitic, who capped a fine debut in the reverse fixture by scoring Schalke's second in the 2-2 draw, would demonstrate his goalscoring instinct once again: "Ivan has a powerful shot on him but he isn't shooting enough at the moment."