Gelsenkirchen (dpa) – Alexander Nübel returns to the goal of FC Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga home game against Werder Bremen on Saturday (3.30 p.m. / Sky).
The 23-year-old displaces his opponent Markus Schubert, who had last four times in a row the housing of the royal blue, on the substitute bench. “Because Schubu unfortunately could not help the team in the last games and could give the security that we hoped for and expected,” said coach David Wagner, explaining his decision to switch.
“I think it is a very difficult situation for everyone, especially for him as a young goalkeeper,” said Wagner on Sky. “Accordingly, we decided to switch.” It is the fourth goalkeeper swap of the current season at the Revierclub, which has been waiting for a win for ten Bundesliga games. Nübel will switch to FC Bayern next season.
Wagner also has three other fresh players in the starting XI against Bremen. Jean-Clair Todibo, Juan Miranda and Michael Gregoritsch play for Matija Nastasic, Bastian Oczipka and Guido Burgsmüller. “Of course, there is a lot of freshness involved,” said Wagner. “And then we are also responsible to see that the boys stay healthy.” There were three changes at Werder after the 0: 0 against Mönchengladbach: Kevin Vogt, Sebastian Langkamp and Leonardo Bittencourt replace Christian Groß, Milos Veljkovic (yellow card suspension) and Yuya Osako.
Wagner defended the partly criticized defensive tactics of FC Schalke in the loss against Fortuna Düsseldorf. “This decision was made and of course we exchange ideas, where does the team feel more stable, better, where are we able to win duels again,” said Wagner. After the 1-2 defeat in Düsseldorf on Wednesday, Wagner had been criticized for his team’s defensive alignment.
“We had chosen this approach before and have at least restored defensive stability,” said Wagner, referring to FC Schalke’s last games before the Corona break in the Bundesliga. “Accordingly, that was the approach in this game and right at the moment,” added the 48-year-old.
Hertha BSC also have to do without attacker Matheus Cunha against FC Augsburg. The 21-year-old Brazilian, who has already scored four goals since moving from RB Leipzig to the national soccer league from the capital in the winter, will miss the home game of Berliners like Marvin Plattenhardt due to a slight concussion this Saturday (3:30 p.m. / Sky).
Maximilian Mittelstädt joins Bruno Labbadia’s team for Plattenhardt and Javairô Dilrosun joins Cunha. Noah Sarenren Bazee makes his debut in the starting line-up for opponents Augsburg, who are four points behind the Herthanians who have so far been unbeaten under Labbadia.
The Hertha BSC players greeted the helpers in the Corona crisis. When warming up before the game against FCA, “THANKS” was written in capital letters on the back of the blue shirts of the Berliners. In the opposite bleachers of the empty Berlin Olympic Stadium due to the exclusion of spectators during the pandemic, there was a large flag with the inscription: “Herthan help. We together for Berlin. »
Eintracht Frankfurt tackles the Bundesliga game at VfL Wolfsburg with four changes in the starting line-up. Compared to 3: 3 against SC Freiburg, coach Adi Hütter sends defender David Abraham and midfielder Dominik Kohr, Timothy Chandler and Mijat Gacinovic onto the field. Frankfurt have been without a win in the Bundesliga for six games and want to end this negative series in the Volkswagen Arena.
Sports director Fredi Bobic sees Eintracht Frankfurt in a “dangerous situation” in the relegation battle of the Bundesliga. «You can be in the relegation battle longer, then you know what you’re dealing with. What is dangerous with us is that we were slowly passed through, »said Bobic before the game at VfL Wolfsburg on the TV channel Sky. “It’s a dangerous situation if you slowly creep in.” The team should know: “Now it counts, we need points.”
Eintracht only got one point from the three games after the Corona break and are two points ahead of the relegation rank before the game on Saturday. Still, he wasn’t nervous, said Bobic. “Because the team also has a quality that they have to show on the pitch.” He sees the lack of spectators as a disadvantage for his team. “We already lack the atmosphere, we are a team that needs it very much,” said Bobic. «Now we have to leave that out. We have to do a better job of being there and being in the game from the first minute. »
Coach Achim Beierlorzer warns his relegation-threatened FSV Mainz 05 team against further fluctuations in performance. These are “explainable to a young team with great potential,” said the 52-year-old at Sky before the game against TSG Hoffenheim. “But of course we can no longer afford that now.” From the three games since the restart, the Mainz had scored only two points, with a total of 28 points the Rheinhessen occupied 15th place before the Saturday games.
Hoffenheim will play without right-back Pavel Kaderabek and Florian Grillitsch. For Kaderabek, Melayro Bogarde plays right into the back four. Sebastian Rudy moves into the midfield for Grillitsch. Captain Benjamin Hübner is also missing from the Kraichgau due to a yellow card suspension. Forwards Andrej Kramaric, Sargis Adamyan and Ishak Belfodil are injured.
At Mainz 05, Pierre Kunde Malong has to sit on the bench. For him, Edimilson Fernandes is starting. Attacking power Karim Onisiwo initially only looks from the sidelines. The ailing Jeremiah St. Juste, for whom Alexander Hack takes the center-back position, is not in the 05 squad.
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