a victory will do it!

By: Porter | November 27th, 2008

After dispatching a laughably easy PSG squad and playing a very tough Racing Santander to a 1-1 draw, Schalke can advance in the UEFA Cup with a victory against Manchester City at Veltins-Arena.

Manchester City’s star Robinho who abandoned Real Madrid, stayed home for the match with an injury along with Pablo Zabaleta, Elano and Gelson Fernandes. With the club staring down at Sundays derby against Man Utd, their manager Mark Hughes appears to be siding more towards a defensive approach and satisfied with a draw. Hughes commented on the absences:

“Robinho has a sprain at the moment so there’s a little bit of concern there. He is certainly not fit for the game against Schalke, so he has not travelled with us, but we are hopeful for the weekend.”

“Pablo Zabaleta has a thigh injury, he took a bang to the thigh and there’s quite a bit of bruising around it. There could be a slight strain in there, which is another concern ahead of the weekend.”

“Elano’s wife has had a baby and there were a few complications, so he has stayed behind, but they are all okay so we wish them well.”

Of Manchester City, Fred Rutten was typically flattering so not to give them anything to be motivated on:

“Against a side like City you can play attacking football, but you must also not neglect the defensive duties. In games like this we’ve got to be 200% concentrated in defence, as there’s a lot of quality in their attack.

“They play in a way that is not typically English. They like to play football, but are also excellent at the counter-attacking game.”

“Every one of their attacking players is dangerous. Stephen Ireland, in particular, is currently in great form and is always capable of scoring a goal.”

Committed to winning the group he added:

“We want to win the group. That would have the advantage that we would avoid a team from the Champions League for one more round. However, the UEFA Cup is so strong this year that at the end of the day there are no little teams.”