Derby day against Bochum

Die Königsblauen derby versus VfL Bochum has taken on a different tone as Marcel Koller's side are grappling with a enormous series of injury losses to the extent they are questioning the competive aspect of the club they can field. Last week against Wolfsburg they lost both Antar Yahia and Marcel Maltritz to serious knee injuries and will miss them along with Paul Freier and Marcin Mięciel. They are hopeful that Mathias Concha and Shinji Ono will be fit in time but there is serious question over the fitness of Stanislav Šesták, Diego Klimowicz, Oliver Schröder, Sestak and Austrian international Christian Fuchs.

After last weeks 1-0 victory over Werder, die Königsblauen are hopeful of putting together a solid run of wins but things around Gelsenkirchen are far from settled. The pressure on Fred Rutten hasn't let up as they try to get back into contention for a Champions League spot. He said of Saturday's match:

"These games are always a bit special. Anything can happen. Past matches have repeatedly shown that you need to give 120 percent, not just a hundred, if you want to take all three points. The fact that Bochum are next to bottom at the moment doesn’t mean we're favourites because a) both teams are really up for the game and b) any result is possible in the Bundesliga this season."

Schalke is without Jermaine Jones to suspension,Marcelo Bordon who broke a bone last week and Orlando Engelaar is in question. Providing no clues to his lineup, the manager added:

"There are lots of possibilities. We might bring someone into midfield, but then again we might play with an additional striker. But I'll be discussing it with my coaching team first before I make any announcements."