There was no time for Roberto Di Matteo to dwell on his side’s progression to knockout stages of the Champions League because “Immediately after the final whistle my full attention went to the Bundesliga match against Köln”. He apparently hasn’t even had time to think about “the draw on Monday or even possible desired opponents” as he has injury worries to contend with, namely his star striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar.
“The team (FC Köln) is very well organized, they stay deep in their own half and leave little space so you have to be patient”.
-Roberto Di Matteo
The Italian was speaking about his star man and midfielder Marco Höger when he said, “Both are questionable” and estimated their chances of appearing in tomorrow’s game as “50:50". Di Matteo also commented on tomorrow’s opponents saying, “The team (FC Köln) is very well organized, they’re deep in their own half and leave little space so you have to be patient”.
In more positive news for Schalke fans Friday’s training session saw the return of defender Felipe Santana and winger Sidney Sam both of who are returning from muscle injuries. Neither is expected to start tomorrow but they’re expected to be named in the match day squad and will possibly feature at some point during the game.