Schalke 04 vs Hannover 96 Match Preview
Hanover defeated Frankfurt, 2-1 last week. They however lost their newest signing, Carlitos to injury early in the match. Konstantin Rausch and Didier Ya Konan scored for Hanover. Hanover is desperately looking for a replacement for Carlitos.
Schalke will be without Benedikt Howedes following his sending off in a 2-1 away loss to Hamburg last week. Schalke’s new signings might be high - profile; however they might not be the most able replacements for the flamboyant Rafinha, the prolific Kevin Kuranyi and the solid Heiko Westermann. Schalke seemed to be playing with seven defenders against Hamburg; thus coach Felix Magath’s vision for a more attacking Schalke seems to be on hold for the moment.
Hanover coach Mirko Slomka knows Schalke well; his side beat Schalke 4-2 in their most recent meeting last season. Hanover is one of the favourites for relegation this season; if Schalke are to challenge Bayern’s supremacy, they have to be able to brush aside sides such as Hanover.
Schalke 04 vs Hannover 96 Match Report
Schalke’s woes in the league continued as they lost to Hanover for a second time this year in the league. The game was very open and Schalke had their opportunities but could not capitalize on them.
Hanover had the better chances in the first half. Mohammed Abdellaoue managed to free himself of three Schalke players before laying on a ball to Konstantin Rausch. Rausch fired in beautifully to open the scoring.
After the break, beautiful interplay between Hanover resulted in a situation where two Schalke defenders had to deal with two Hanover attackers. Abdellaoue was able to free himself from his marker when the ball was played to him. He hit the target to double the lead for Hanover.
As Felix Magath stared in disbelief, Schalke tried to get back into the match. Jermaine Jones headed in from an Ivan Rakitic free kick to get one back for Schalke. Schalke had chances to equalize; however, Hanover had chances to increase their lead but failed to hit the target.
Schalke recently signed Hans Sarpei from Bayer Leverkusen but the defender could not stamp his mark on the game today. Schalke desperately need to improve their form or Felix Magath needs to ring a few changes. Two games have gone and Schalke are yet to earn a point.
