Struggling Schalke face second from bottom Werder Bremen

Schalke look to halt their dramatic slide in form as they face relegation threatened Werder Bremen at the weekend.

Since the season has resumed, it’s been three defeats on the bounce for Schalke, with only one goal scored in that time. Last time out, the Miners held a lead against Fortuna Dusseldorf but two goals in five minutes saw an eventual 2-1 defeat against the side currently occupying the relegation play-off place.

That result was bad news for Werder Bremen, Schalke’s opponents this weekend, who sit one place and now five points behind Fortuna in the relegation zone. This is despite two impressive results in their last couple of outings – a 0-0 draw with high flying Borussia Monchengladbach in midweek following a 1-0 victory over Freiburg last weekend.

Both sides will be desperate for a result on Saturday. Schalke need to find a solution to their recent run bad of form, although the result is arguably more important for Werder who face a struggle to remain in the Bundesliga.

Team news

Schalke’s struggles in front of goal have not been helped by a heavy dose of bad luck with injuries since the restart. With Amine Harit – who has six goals this season – still ruled out with a long term injury, the Miners have been dealt with another cruel blow with an injury to midfielder Suart Serdar after the Ausburg game at the weekend. Serdar has seven goals this season but is likely to be out until September.

There will be hope that their highest scoring forward – Benito Raman with four goals – will be back after picking up a knock against Borussia Dortmund. The Belgian is still doubtful though, only compounding Schalke’s goalscoring woes further.

Werder Bremen will be without Serbian defender Milos Veljkovic after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Monchengladbach. There are hopes that Kevin Vogt will be able to return from a hip injury to fill his place.

Aside from this, Werder have no fresh injury concerns – only hampered by some long term injuries within the squad. 41 year old forward Claudio Pizarro is still shaking off a hamstring injury and is expected to be back in early June.

Schalke boss David Wagner has refused to let injury worries be an excuse for his side’s poor from:

“We need to find solutions for how to compensate for these injuries.”

Wagner also highlighted his determination to run around the Miners’ poor form, saying: “Our current situation is anything but satisfying. We are all working hard in order to finally be able to celebrate a win again.

“[It’s important to] avoid those individual mistakes that have been causing us to concede over the past weeks. If we don’t, it will be difficult to win games.”

Werder Bremen boss Florian Kohfeldt spoke about the relegation battle heating up:

“I’ve been following Schalke 04 very closely. They’ve had some bad luck with injuries lately, but for me it’s just about bringing our game to the pitch. We want to and must win this game.

“Werder know how to get out of a tight relegation battle. The next few weeks will be more intense than usual, but the team is ready for it and will do everything they can to have a strong end to the season.”

Head-to-head

Schalke’s 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen earlier this season in November 2019 was only their second in the last seven matches between the two sides.