With just seven matchdays left of this Bundesliga campaign, matches don’t come much bigger than this.
The league’s bottom two face off as they both attempt to lift themselves off the foot of the table and closer to safety.
Thomas Reis’ Schalke side sit bottom on 21 points while Sandro Schwarz’s Hertha Berlin side sit just one point and place above the Royal Blues.
With just nine wins between them all season the two sides have endured tough campaigns, and with just one win in both side’s last five fixtures put together, they both come into the massive clash lacking form.
Schalke seemed to be dead and buried when the Bundesliga restarted in January, but an unbeaten streak of eight games helped them close the gap to the rest of the league.
Back to back defeats in their last two matches has slowed this momentum though, and a lack of goals, just 21 this season, means they are struggling once again to pick up points.
Hertha will go to the VELTINS Arena on Friday night without a win in their last five outings, but will know they have beat their opposition in the last three meetings.
With just six games remaining after this round it is becoming must win territory for these two Bundesliga side’s.
Team News
The Royal Blues have quite a considerable injury list currently.
Last year’s 2. Bundesliga champions will be without keeper Justin Heekeren, winger Soichiro Kozuki, full-back Jere Uronen and striker Sebastien Polter who picked up a cruciate ligament injury in the new year.
Kenan Karaman and Sepp Van den Berg are also doubts for this crunch relegation match with muscular and ankle injuries respectively.
The capital club will be without creator Jean-Paul Boetius as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury.
Tricky winger Chidera Ejuke is also still on the side-lines due to a knee injury he picked up back in January in a friendly.
Kélian Nsona is a doubt for the match, but Schwarz should have the rest of his squad to choose from for this relegation battle against The Royal Blues.
Likely Lineups
Fährmann, Brunner, Yoshida, Jenz, Matriciani, Král, Krauß, Drexler, Zalazar, Bülter, Frey
Christensen, Uremovic, Kempf, Dárdai, Kenny, Tousart, Cigerci, Serdar, Plattenhardt, Kanga, Lukebakio
Key Players
Schalke: Ralf Fährmann
Reis slammed his whole team after last weekend’s away defeat to Hoffenheim apart from Ralf Fährmann.
The experienced German keeper has been between the sticks for The Royal Blues for over a decade, experiencing Champions League campaigns as well as a relegation season.
This means he will be a vital leader and man of wisdom in The Royal Blues seven remaining games.
But with Schalke’s leaky defence in front of him, which keeps chopping and changing, the 34-year-old will need to be in fine shot stopping form if The Royal Blues are to get anything from Friday night’s clash.
Hertha Berlin: Dodi Lukebakio
If Hertha Berlin beat the drop this season it will be down to the goals of Dodi Lukebakio.
The Belgian is the capital club’s top goal scorer with ten goals this term, as well as providing one assist.
The former Fortuna Dusseldorf man was loaned out last campaign to fellow Bundesliga side, VfL Wolfsburg, but Schwarz has made him an integral part of his side this season.
Schalke have shipped the third most goals in the Bundesliga this season, meaning Lukebakio will be a key man for Hertha on Friday night.
Match Details
Where is the game being played?
This Friday night game will be played at the VELTINS Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
What time is kick-off?
Kick-off for this round 28 match is scheduled to be at 19:30 GMT.
How can I watch?
The match will be available for UK viewers on the Sky Sports App and US viewers can watch the game on ESPN+.
