'Schalke have moved on'

Sunday's match (25 February, 15.30 CET) should be an "an evenly balanced encounter" according to the Werkself head coach – Bayer 04 are currently just one point and two places above the Royal Blues. At the end of the season, both teams will want to finish in a place that ensures European football next term. "Two teams face each other who want to end up in the top positions in the table," said Herrlich before adding: "A win would put us four points ahead of Schalke. If Schalke win  they will go above us. We definitely want to avoid that."

Schalke strong at set pieces

As in the 1-1 draw against Schalke earlier in the season, this match is also likely to present the Werkself with a challenge. "They were very effective when we played them earlier in the season. They sat back a lot but were still able to get results. That has changed slightly after the winter break," said Herrlich referring to his team's possession in the previous meeting. Above all from the last two Schalke performances, the Werkself coach has learned  a lesson for the build-up to this weekend's fixture: "They have moved on, they vary their tactics much more in defence. They tried to press Bayern Munich recently and played very high up the pitch against Hoffenheim and launched their attacks up front. I can imagine they will try the same against." 

The visitors also have options in their attack: Alongside Guido Burgstaller defender Naldo is the second highest scorer for the Royal Blues. The Brazilian has scored four of his five goals this season with his head and that explains the great strength of the team coached by Domenico Tedesco: Set pieces– a total of 17 of Schalke's 36 goals this season have come from dead balls. That's the highest number in the league. The Werkself coaching staff have focused on successful defending this week.

Herrlich set to play Retsos again

While Wendell is available again after his foot injury, Herrlich will have to manage without Jonathan Tah again. As in last week's game against Hamburg SV, the 22-year-old is still laid low with a bout of flu. "He's getting better but I said to him yesterday he doesn't need to hurry back but rather focus on the next game," said Herrlich before adding: "Clearly, if there is a rapid recovery by Sunday we will have to look at it again. But we have to plan and without him at the moment. His health takes priority," Herrlich also announced Tah’s place in central defence alongside Sven Bender will again be taken by Panos Retsos. The 19-year-old has already justified the confidence of his coach against HSV with an impressive display. "Panos has great quality and is incredible for his age," declared Herrlich.

As with Tah, the game against Schalke comes too early for the skipper Lars Bender. The 28-year-old defensive all rounder was on the pitch for the first time on Thursday since his torn thigh muscle. "Lars will join in with full training today. We aren't taking any risks but rather planning for the game against Wolfsburg without him," explained Herrlich looking forward to the next fixture in eight days. Up to then, the main focus is on the match against Schalke 04.

Bayer 04 are expecting a full house at the BayArena with around 3,500 away fans set to visit Leverkusen.