FC Twente vs Schalke Preview
Schalke coach Fred Rutten has called on his team to forget their poor domestic form when they face FC Twente in the UEFA Cup.
He will now, though, be hoping to push his former employers closer to elimination from Europe as Schalke look to rescue a season which is turning quickly into one to forget.
Rutten and general manager Andreas Muller have come under fire recently for a rotten run of results which has seen the Royal Blues drop out of the race for the Bundesliga title.
But the coach told the club's official website: "A UEFA Cup game is always something different to an encounter in the Bundesliga."
Schalke are far from certain of a place in the knockout stages after losing 2-0 at home to Group A leaders Manchester City last week, a result which left them with four points from three games, good enough for second place but only a point ahead of tomorrow's opponents and three of bottom side Paris St Germain.
And Rutten added: "We are not allowed to go there and underestimate their team. About 90% of the players I know from last season.
"But now we have to win against Twente so that we are not relying on the results of other teams on the last day of group matches.
"We want to still be competing in Europe in the new year."
Schalke will be without Albert Streit, Levan Kenia, Peter Lovenkrands and Ze Roberto through injury, while Marcelo Bordon is a doubt.
Twente boss Steve McClaren is not reading too much in to Schalke's poor form as he looks for the win which would guarantee his side a place in the knock-out stages.
The hosts were not in action last week so have a game in hand on their opponents.
"Schalke are a very good and strong team," said the former England boss. "They have some top international players who have a lot of experience in European football.
"For us it will be a very difficult match, but it will be our aim to win and then we will qualify."
Slobodan Rajkovic came through a reserve game today and has been included in the Twente squad.