Tedesco: We want the points

Schalke’s head coach was crystal clear about the mentality he wants from the squad when it comes to matchday. “We try to put results and the league table to the back of our minds. Instead, we concentrate on what we need to do tactically and technically.” The team will certainly need to do just that against a Bremen side who will demand a lot of them. “Werder have a solid group of players that are capable of pressing very aggressively when they are at home in front of a strong set of fans,” said Tedesco, who is expecting the opposition to keep compact and look to quickly counter.
The 32-year-old will be meeting an old companion at the Weser-Stadion, completing his coaching license together with Alexander Nouri. “He is an excellent chap, who deals with his colleagues extremely respectfully. We had a great time together, it was a very enjoyable course,” praised Tedesco.

The head coach won’t be giving any gifts on Saturday. The idea that the away defeat to Hannover suggests Schalke struggle on their travels isn’t one that Domenico Tedesco believes in: “We don’t play differently depending on whether we’re home or away. The Hannover game wasn’t good enough and we’ve spoken about that.” In the win against VfB Stuttgart, the head coach saw many parallels with the loss in Hannover. “We righted our wrongs against Stuttgart so we’ve made a step in the right direction so I’m not worried about going to Bremen.”

In terms of who is available for selection, the situation has somewhat improved – especially in attack. Franco di Santo and Guido Burgstaller could feature after training all week. Alessandro Schöpf, however, will most likely not take part following his back injury. Naldo has also returned to training after having a cold that ruled him out of Wednesday’s session.

Tedesco has observed continual improvements in the condition of Breel Embolo. “Breel has been in full training all week. Each week does him good. We just have to stay patient with his progress.”