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Miron Muslic: Show what has made us so strong in recent months
FC Schalke 04 are back at home on Saturday (8/11) at 13:00 CET as they welcome SV Elversberg to the VELTINS-Arena. Head coach Miron Muslic is looking forward to the meeting between two closely-matched sides, and is keen for his team to build on what they have shown over the past few months.
The visitors missed out on promotion to the Bundesliga last season by the narrowest of margins, conceding a late goal in the play-off second leg against 1. FC Heidenheim. Despite losing several key players and saying goodbye to successful coach Horst Steffen, the Saarland club are enjoying another excellent campaign and sit third in the table, just one point behind Schalke.
“Elversberg had an outstanding second half of the season last year and have continued that form seamlessly,” commented Muslic. “They have a lot of quality and a really clear structure to their play. I have huge respect for what they’ve done.”
They’re a very tough side to play against – but so are we.
After eleven matches, SVE have collected 23 points and boast the best attack in the division with 24 goals. Their top scorer Younes Ebnoutalib has already found the net nine times, making him the league’s leading marksman. “Elversberg will be right up there again at the end of the season, I’m sure of that,” said Muslic. “They’re a very tough side to play against – but so are we.”
Gantenbein suspended
Schalke will be without Adrian Gantenbein on Saturday, with the wing-back serving a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in Karlsruhe. Amin Younes is also sidelined with a thigh problem.
Janik Bachmann, who missed the last match, remains unavailable due to a heel issue. The Royal Blues are likewise still without Christopher Antwi-Adjei, Timo Becker, Christian Gomis, Emil Højlund, Tomas Kalas, Bryan Lasme and Zaid Tchibara.
“Every absence hurts, but we deal with it as a group and we don’t complain,” Muslic stressed. “We’ll put a team on the pitch that will fight for 90 minutes. To be successful, we have to stay switched on until the final whistle. ‘Defend until the end’ remains our motto. We’ll need that against Elversberg, because they’ve already won several games late on this season.”
Muslic expects an attacking contest: “Both teams have a lot of quality going forward – even with our injuries. Kenan Karaman and Moussa Sylla, for example, are exceptional players. That’s not easy to defend against. But they also have some dangerous attackers. We’ll need the support of our fans again to help shut them down.”
Ahead of the match, the club also confirmed their plans for the winter break: the first team will not travel south for a training camp this year, instead preparing for the second half of the season at home.
