week 21 - match preview

Schalke out to run Leverkusen into the ground

Buoyed by their Champions League victory over FC Porto, the Royal Blues go to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday looking to repeat the feat in the Bundesliga.

Recent encounters with the works club have been close, tense affairs, something Mirko Slomka is keen to change. "A win would be very important because it would keep us in touch with the top three", the Schalke boss explained. "Finishing in one the Champions League spots was our pre-season target and that remains the case."

Schalke may have a slight advantage in that Leverkusen meet Galatasaray for a place in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup on Thursday. "They'll have much less time to recover than us. So we'll be looking to exploit that", confirmed Slomka. "We have to get Leverkusen running because then there's a chance of fatigue setting in. But that depends on how their UEFA Cup game goes."

Slomka is aware how difficult this will be: "Leverkusen have a big and talented squad and can cope with playing on the Thursday. Hamburg have already shown it can be done, they impressed in the Bundesliga less than 48 hours after playing in Europe."

The Schalke boss is spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting his 18-man squad. Markus Heppke (shoulder) and Zlatan Bajramovic (toe) are the only injury absentees. Christian Pander (bereavement) is also unavailable.