Belhanda set for debut as Schalke welcome Bremen
FC Schalke 04 are expected to give a debut to new signing Younes Belhanda when SV Werder Bremen visit the Veltins Arena in Matchday 18’s final game on Sunday (kick-off 17.30CET/16.30GMT).
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The Moroccan international has joined the Gelsenkirchen club on a six-month loan deal from FC Dynamo Kyiv and impressed in the Florida Cup recently.
History
Matchday 1 rewind: Bremen 0-3 Schalke
Goals: 0-1 Gebre Selassie (o.g. 34'); 0-2 Choupo-Moting (68'); 0-3 Huntelaar (85')
Matchday 18 - match facts
- Schalke scored just 23 goals in the first half of the season, their lowest Hinrunde total for ten years.Wolfsburg's 15 points in the campaign so far represent their lowest Hinrunde tally since 1974/75, when they also amassed just 15 points.Schalke are unbeaten in their last 11 meetings with Bremen, winning eight and drawing three. The Royal Blues have also scored in all of those matches, racking up 28 goals in total.Schalke's 3-0 win at Bremen on the opening day of the season is their biggest victory under Andre Breitenreiter to date.Franco Di Santo, now with Schalke, scored 17 goals in 49 Bundesliga appearances for Werder between 2013 and 2015.
Possible line-ups
Schalke: Fährmann - Caicara, J. Matip, Neustädter, Aogo - L. Sane, Goretzka, Geis, Choupo-Moting - di Santo, Huntelaar
Absentees: Benedikt Höwedes (hamstring), Atsuto Uchida (knee), Marco Höger (knee), Matija Nastasic (recovering)
Bremen: Wiedwald - Gebre Selassie, Vestergaard, Djilobodji, S. Garcia - Fritz, Bargfrede - Öztunali, Junuzovic, Grillitsch - Ujah
Absentees: Raphael Wolf (hip), Philipp Bargfrede (Achilles), Özkan Yildirim (knee), Aron Johannsson (knee)