Exciting challenge against below-par Schalke

Markus Gisdol on…

… the opposition:

Schalke have had a busy couple of days after losing the derby. Roberto Di Matteo has announced that he wants to make some changes. This means a greater level of uncertainty for us over how they'll set up but also means we have more of a chance of taking something out of the game as Schalke aren't in their stride. They aren't going to have a complete overhaul but probably just change their set-up or approach. The stadium will be full of fans and there'll be plenty of emotion. It's an exciting challenge. Schalke are under a lot of pressure but they're aware of that.

… personnel:

Question marks remain over Tarik Elyounoussi and Jin-Su Kim. Kim has a calf problem. We are hopeful but it's 50-50 whether he can feature. It remains to be seen how he coped with training and if he came through unscathed.

… the current situation:

It's not a special game. It's about getting three points, just like the game a week later. I'm not one to put special significance on individual games. We started with a good result against Mainz, overcame the challenge in Aalen and are now going to do absolutely everything to come away from Schalke with a result.

Playing with three holding midfielders is an option for us. I couldn't possibly say whether we're actually going to set up that way against Schalke though. Rudy, Schwegler and Polanski are all in good form. The advantage of this system is that we can strengthen the centre of the park and ideally counter effectively by getting lots of players into the opposition penalty area.

If Jin-Su Kim isn't available, Jeremy Toljan is certainly an alternative. He played some promising football in Aalen but it was also clear to see that he lacks match practice. That's completely normal though; he would certainly get better with every game he played. We tried out some other options when Kim missed out previously. I don't want to deal with this however until it's confirmed whether or not Kim can play.

The upcoming game:

There have been 14 matches between Hoffenheim and Schalke 04. They've met 13 times in the league and once in the DFB Cup. The head-to-head record is in favour of TSG – six wins, four draws and four defeats. Hoffenheim ran out 2-1 winners at the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena earlier in the season on matchday 7.

The opponents‘ form:

For the first time under coach Roberto Di Matteo, Schalke have gone three games in a row without a win. The defeat in the derby against BVB on the last matchday provoked a strong reaction in Gelsenkirchen. The focus of the criticism? Schalke‘s defensive style of play. In fact, they've only scored four goals in the past seven games. The last time they had such a bad goalscoring run was in March 2011 under Felix Magath. Nevertheless Schalke are strong at home. They've recorded seven wins, four draws and only one defeat at the Veltins Arena this season.

The key battles:

Schalke have scored twelve goals from dead-ball situations this season and seven of these have come from corners. This makes them the second most prolific team from set pieces in the league. They have scored from every fourteenth corner on average – a league best. On the other hand, TSG are yet to concede a goal from a corner so far this season. If the team can maintain their record, it'll limit one of the threats Schalke pose and improve the likelihood of TSG getting a result.

Match facts and statistics »