week 33 - match preview

Royal Blues honour-bound to go for victory in Berlin

A place in Europe is now out of reach for the Royal Blues, but at Thursday's pre-match media conference caretaker boss Mike Büskens was keen to point out that Schalke will be going all out to win at Hertha BSC Berlin on Saturday (kick-off: 1530 CET): "We have two obligations to fulfil, after all."

The 41-year-old is aware that thousands of Schalke fans will make their way to the capital to support their team. "The stadium will be sold out", he predicted. And with Hertha currently sitting in third place in the Bundesliga table, the match is also of significance for the outcome of the title race. "We're obliged to put in a good performance there", Büskens continued. "And we have three things to play for, too, i.e. honour, bonuses and the best possible position in the final table."

Büskens has great respect for Lucien Favre's side, who are just one point behind joint leaders VfL Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich. He said: "Hertha are a prime example of efficiency. They've won so many games by the odd goal." In the reverse fixture it was the other way round, however. A Gerald Asamoah goal gave the Royal Blues a one-nil victory.

Büskens delayed the naming of his starting line-up for Saturday, saying merely: "We may decide to make some changes again."