Schalke Choking Again?
March 17, 2007
Schalke 04 coach Mirko Slomka admitted on Thursday he is wary of third-place Stuttgart's visit. The team have seized the under-dog tag ahead of Saturday's clash against the Bundesliga leaders.
In the hunt for their first German title in 49 years, Schalke's form has deserted them -- they have now gone four games without a win -- and Slomka knows his side desperately need a moral-boosting victory at the Veltins Arena.
Schalke are just three points ahead of second-placed Werder Bremen and are away to a resurgent fourth-placed Bayern Munich in two weeks -- after the international break -- in a game which could decide the identity of the 2007 Bundesliga champions.
Schalke wary
"Stuttgart are playing down the roll of title candidates, that's a tactic I can understand from their point of view," said Slomka. "The last time we played them, they won 3-0, but we won't be using that as motivation. The desire to maintain our league position will be incentive enough."
Slomka was given a two-year extension to his current contract on Thursday, but after losing their last two home games to Bayern Leverkusen and Hamburg, his side need to stop leaking championship points.
Stuttgart are without Bundesliga top-scorer Mario Gomez, who picked up a knee injury last weekend which will rules him out for six weeks. But they are in good form, having only lost just once in eight games.
Fourth-placed Bayern Munich are hoping captain Oliver Kahn will be fit for Saturday's trip to relegation-contenders Eintracht Frankfurt.
Waiting for a Schalke slip-up
After veteran coach Ottmar Hitzfeld committed to another year at the helm on Thursday, Bayern are in buoyant mood following their 1-1 draw with Bremen and are desperate to close the six-point gap between them and leaders Schalke.
Having been anchored to the bottom of the table at Christmas, tenth-placed Mainz 05 face a huge test of their improved form when they travel to Bremen on Sunday.
Mainz are waiting on the fitness of their Egyptian midfielder Mohamad Zidan who was sold from Bremen for 2.8 million euros during the winter break and has been a revelation for his new club.
The 25-year-old striker has bagged seven goals in seven games, but is battling flu in the race to face his former club.
New relegation fight
With his new club having suffered eight defeats in the last ten games, new Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Doll has his work cut to stop the 1997 European champions sliding into the relegation zone, starting at home on Saturday to Nuremburg.
Dortmund are just one point from the relegation zone and after departing coach Jürgen Röber questioned the commitment of his squad, particularly German internationals Christoph Metzelder and Sebastian Kehl, bridges need to be rebuilt.