Schalke vs Hoffenheim preview - Di Matteo targeting positive result

Posted Friday, March 06, 2015 by PA

While Roberto Di Matteo may well have known about the expectations and pressures at Schalke when he took charge last October, few could have expected him to be faced with his first crisis just five months to the day since he replaced Jens Keller.

A 3-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund last weekend has sparked the fans' anger with Di Matteo demanding a response against Hoffenheim this Saturday.

"That game hurt," said the Italian, reflecting the view of over 60,000 fans due at the Arena AufSchalke this weekend.

"Nevertheless, we've got to look forwards and focus our energy on Hoffenheim.

"We've spoken about the derby at length and I've had plenty of one-to-one chats too.

"We win together and we lose together, just against Dortmund it was a collective failure."

That failure will not be tolerated again by fans who expect Champions League football as a bare minimum next season.

"We're thinking positive and thoughts of potentially losing this game are not even crossing our minds," added Di Matteo.

"I'm convinced that the team will deliver a good performance."

Anything less could see the first questions raised about the former Chelsea manager's future in Gelsenkirchen, although that is nothing new in a city which has been starved of success for too long.

"There's always a lot of noise made at Schalke after losing a derby," said Hoffenheim coach Markus Gisdol, who plans to make that noise much louder after this weekend.

"The stadium's going to be full and there will be lots of emotions. It's an exciting challenge."

Hoffenheim have doubts over Tarik Elyounoussi and Kim Jin-su while Leon Goretzka could be back in the Schalke squad for the first time this season after injury.