week 15 - match preview

Schalke looking to bounce back

The Royal Blues guest at 11th placed VfB Stuttgart this Sunday (1700 CET), three days after the 2-0 defeat against Manchester City in the UEFA Cup. And Fred Rutten is expecting a significant improvement from his team at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

With the game coming less than 70 hours after the City reverse, the Schalke boss is focusing more on the mental rather than the physical side of things. "Training isn't important at the moment, we need to talk," he explained.

Yet Rutten is more interested in the future than the past. "I always say you have 24 hours to enjoy a win or be angry about a defeat. Then you have to forget about it and start preparing for your next game", he continued.

The Dutchman feels his side have enough quality to show a different face in Stuttgart, something they have already demonstrated this season. "We didn't let our heads drop when we were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid. We bounced straight back again", recalled Rutten, who along with everyone else in the Schalke camp was able to celebrate a convincing 1-0 win over VfL Bochum three days later.

Stuttgart were also in UEFA Cup action on Thursday, securing a 1-1 draw at Sampdoria, and Rutten knows his side will have to be focused from the off. "Our organisation on the field has to be right. Unfortunately we've made a number of individual mistakes just recently that have led to us conceding. We have to put a stop to that."

Squadwise little has changed since the City game. Marcelo Bordon was the only player to report a minor injury problem after the final whistle on Thursday. Rutten is confident, however, that his skipper will be fit to face Stuttgart. Albert Streit (knee), Levan Kenia (ankle) and Peter Lovenkrands and Ze Roberto (both muscle strains) remain unavailable. Mladen Krstajic, who has been suffering from a bacterial infection, is also a doubt.