Domenico Tedesco: We need to be patient and not lose our focus

In the win over Werder, Tedesco noticed a big improvement from the performance his side put in when they drew 1-1 with Hannover the previous week. “We didn’t make use of our opportunities after winning the ball back against Hannover. We made too many poor decisions,” said the head coach looking back. “We were much better in that way against Stuttgart. We got into their penalty area frequently.” However, there is even more room for improvement this week: “We didn’t get any goals for our efforts in that aspect of the game. Both of them came from set-pieces. There are some small things that decide whether you score or you don’t. But we’re getting somewhere.”

It’s likely that the small things will be the deciding factor in the game against the Green-Whites this weekend. Even though they currently occupy the 16th spot in the Bundesliga standings, their form is clearly on the up. They even made life for Bayern Munich difficult at the Allianz Arena. “It wasn’t just in the Bayern game that they were effective,” emphasised Tedesco. “Werder have been good in general over the last few weeks. Most recently, they drew 0-0 against Hertha BSC at home, but with a little more luck they could easily have won that game. They created a multitude of chances.”

Tedesco is expecting an opponent that will not only defend compactly, but will also try their hand going forward: “They’ve got a lot of technically gifted players. In the centre of the pitch, they’re confident on the ball and are also a threat to score goals. They’re also a defensively strong side.” So it’ll be important for Schalke to be patient: “We can’t lose our focus – this is not going to be a walkover.”

The Royal Blues will definitely be without Pablo Insua (rehabilitation training) and Weston McKennie (partially torn right MCL). On top of that, the availability of Alessandro Schöpf and Leon Goretzka is under question. “Schöpfi has had problems dealing with the workload over the last few weeks and can’t train fully at the moment. Leon has a slight hip problem and is also limited,” explained the head coach. “But we still have a couple of days and two important training sessions ahead of us.”