Fortuna look to make amends from weekend slip up when they take on FC Schalke

Fortuna Düsseldorf look to move out of the bottom three with a win over FC Schalke.

Fortuna are unbeaten in their last five games in the Bundesliga. However, four of them have been draws.

They have missed the opportunities to close the gap on the sides above them since their return to action. A 0-0 draw against bottom side Paderborn was followed with a heartbreaking 2-2 draw at Cologne on Sunday, in which they conceded two goals in the last five minutes.

Uwe Rosler’s men know that they have a great opportunity on Wednesday. Their oppenents FC Schalke have been in dismal form.

Die Knappen are winless in their last ten games, in which they have seen humiliating defeats to Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich. They have conceded a grand total of 23 goals during this run.

Their form has seen tomorrow’s visitors drop from fourth to eighth and has seen the pressure grow on manager David Wagner.

Though it looks inevitable that they are out of the equation for Champions League football, they are still in the thick of a race for the Europa League.

Victory for Wagner’s men could move them into the top six, if results go their way, while a win for Fortuna could see them escape the play-off place.

Team news

For Fortuna Dusseldorf – Goalkeeper Zach Steffen hasn’t kicked a ball in 2020, and won’t play on Wednesday either, as he continues to recover from a knee injury.

For Schalke – Amine Harit is out with ligament damage. Omar Mascarell has a groin problem, Jean-Clair Tobido has an ankle injury. Benjamin Stambouli will be a doubt as he is lacking match fitness and Suan Serdar as he has a shin problem.

Frotuna Dusseldorf manager Uwe Rosler spoke about needing a crucial win against Schalke:

“It is clear to us that we have to win this game. No matter how.

“It was hard to believe what had happened in the past few minutes. I was speechless at first, but that settled relatively quickly. We talked a lot in the cabin, including the players. That was important. “

Schalke manager gave his words of disappointment after a 3-0 defeat to Augsburg:

“The game started badly for us with that unstoppable free kick. After that, we kept Augsburg at bay and created a clear-cut chance that we couldn’t take. We weren’t dangerous enough, especially considering how dominant we were. The second half wasn’t like the first – we were very tense. We weren’t able to create any chances at all. Conceding goals from individual errors is typical of the situation that we find ourselves in. Now we need to carry on working hard and support the lads so that they can play football with some confidence again. The goals we conceded speak for themselves.

“We aren’t threatening enough and we’re not scoring enough of our chances. On top of that, we’re also making errors that are leading to goals. These are the key things that we need to improve. A lot of it is psychological. The lads are aware of the current situation, especially when you go behind early on.”

Match Facts

Rowen Hennings hattrick at the Veltins Arena in the two sides’ previous encounter earned Dusseldorf a 3-3 draw.

However Schalke haven’t lost in their last three trips to the Merkur Speel Arena, winning two and drawing, and have scored in all but one of their last 20 visits to the ground.

Infact the last goalless meeting between the two sides came back in April 1992.