FC Schalke: 5 key players to watch against Werder Bremen

FC Schalke 04 will face Werder Bremen on Saturday afternoon at the Weserstadion, and here are five players who can decide the game.

Heading into Matchday 12, FC Schalke 04 sit seventh in the tight Bundesliga table but have clear aspirations to finish in the league’s top four. The Royal Blues have sufficient quality, particularly on defense, to end up in a Champions League position.

However, they need to show more consistency. After barely beating Augsburg 3-2 behind a moment of individual brilliance from Amine Harit, they drew 3-3 to Fortuna Dusseldorf, surrendering a hat trick to little-known striker Rouwen Hennings in this rivalry matchup at the Veltins Arena.

Games against Augsburg and Fortuna should be points in the bank, so dropping points to Fortuna at home was far from ideal. This weekend against Werder Bremen, Schalke will be on the road against a traditionally strong Bundesliga club, though Bremen are clearly playing well below their talent level in 14th place.

Bremen have the quality to produce an upset, so Die Knappen must be on their guard. They absolutely must get all three points on Matchday 12, regardless of what happened two weeks ago before the break against Dusseldorf, the Royal Blues need a win.

Here are five players who will be crucial in a winning effort at the Weserstadion.