Iron out the knots against Leverkusen

Schalke failed to score a single goal in 180 minutes against Bayern München and 1899 Hoffenheim, but Domenico Tedesco doesn’t believe there are any attacking weaknesses to worry about. Quite the contrary in fact: “When you see the chances we are creating, we are far from harmless in front of goal.“ The fact that the many chances created in those games weren’t convert doesn’t unsettle the Schalke boss, however. “We shouldn’t turn this into a bigger deal than it is. There are little things that are making the difference between the ball going in or not. We have plenty of players in the squad that have proven enough times that they can score goals. We just need to iron out the knots.“

The head coach strives for the absolute best with his team in every game. „Results are important. We want to put points on the board, that’s what it’s all about,“ explained the 32-year-old who, along with his coaching team, also have other parameters in view. “We’re not letting ourselves be influenced by results, but instead are evaluating our work based on the team’s development.“ Something which the coach sees as a positive: “We didn’t score goals against Hoffenheim, but a lot of what we did was good. We can build on that. Because of that, we definitely didn’t start the week feeling bad.“
Tedesco is hoping to carry these positive vibes into the match against Leverkusen, where his team „has some catching up to do in terms of points.“ In order for this to be achieved, he is also calling upon the home fans. „They supported us fantastically in Hoffenheim. For that, we want to give them something back and will give our best.“

Intensity is also a key characteristic of our upcoming opponents. „Leveksuen’s is filled in every position by speedy players. That makes them extremely dangerous on the counter,“ warned Tedesco, who has worked hard to analyse the Rhine club. However, the Werkself are difficult to predict, “as they have players that can produce something from nothing. We need to stay concentrated on the pitch for 90 minutes. It will be an exciting match.“

The boss will be without both Spaniards Coke (knee) and Pablo Insua (pleurisy). It is unknown whether or not Nabil Bentaleb will feature, having only returned to training from his muscle injury on Wedneday.