Schalke 04 vs Bayern Munich - Bentaleb draws on Premier League experience for Bayern clash - 7M sport

Schalke 04 vs Bayern Munich - Bentaleb draws on Premier League experience for Bayern clash



Posted Thursday, September 08, 2016 by PA

Nabil Bentaleb is hoping to bring his experience of English football to the table in Schalke's clash with Bayern Munich on Friday night.

The 21-year-old has joined the Royal Blues on a season-long loan from Tottenham and he is in line to make his first start for the club at the Arena AufSchalke this Friday.

It may be one of the toughest games of the season for his new club, whose coach Markus Weinzierl has bemoaned the misfortune in facing such a fixture now after losing their opening game of the season away to Eintracht Frankfurt, but Bentaleb says he is ready for it.

"They will definitely be a hard nut to crack. Although I have not been in Germany long, I know of course about the huge quality Bayern have in their team," he said on Schalke's website.

"But we will not hide. I played tough matches in my time in England and I have no fear."

Even if Bentaleb again starts on the bench on Friday - and he admits that may be possible, since he has not yet trained more than a handful of times with his new team-mates - he will nevertheless be closer to the Schalke fans than in the past.

That is because Schalke coach Markus Weinzierl has asked to swap benches in the Arena AufSchalke, with the home team now taking their place on the bench closest to their most passionate fans.

"We've got the Nordkurve on the left, where our most faithful fans stand," he told the Bild newspaper.

"We also warm up on the left, our dressing room is on the left and that is where we wanted our bench to be again."

They will hope it has a positive impact on their first home game of the season after starting the campaign with a 1-0 defeat, while Bayern midfielder Xabi Alonso fears that result a fortnight ago may not be such good news for Bayern.

With Schalke keen to pick up their first points of the season and prove their slip in Frankfurt was just a one-off, the Spanish midfielder has warned of the perils of travelling to Gelsenkirchen right now.

"They are capable of beating anybody on their day," he said at a press conference. "I love the atmosphere there, the fans are so passionate."

Alonso should take his place in the Bayern midfield with Joshua Kimmich, who scored his first goal for Germany in their World Cup qualifying win over Norway on Sunday.

The alternative is Renato Sanches, who could make his Bayern debut this weekend having impressed Alonso a lot in training.

"I've got a very good feeling about him," said the 34-year-old. "He's got a lot of energy, is hungry for titles and he's a top player.

"He's good for our team. Maybe we get to play together already this Friday - he's trained well the past two weeks and I believe he's ready."



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