Release The Knappen
Fansided

FC Schalke 04: 5 key players to watch against Bayern Munich

By Kevin Parvizi

17 January 2020, North Rhine-Westphalia, Gelsenkirchen: Football: Bundesliga, FC Schalke 04 - Borussia Mönchengladbach, 18th matchday in the Veltins Arena: Schalke's Omar Mascarell (l) and coach David Wagner hug each other. Photo: Bernd Thissen/dpa - IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the regulations of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to exploit or have exploited in the stadium and/or from the game taken photographs in the form of sequence images and/or video-like photo series. (Photo by Bernd Thissen/picture alliance via Getty Images)
17 January 2020, North Rhine-Westphalia, Gelsenkirchen: Football: Bundesliga, FC Schalke 04 - Borussia Mönchengladbach, 18th matchday in the Veltins Arena: Schalke's Omar Mascarell (l) and coach David Wagner hug each other. Photo: Bernd Thissen/dpa - IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the regulations of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to exploit or have exploited in the stadium and/or from the game taken photographs in the form of sequence images and/or video-like photo series. (Photo by Bernd Thissen/picture alliance via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Schalke CAM Amine Harit
AUGSBURG, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 03: Amine Harit of FC Schalke 04 celebrates during the Bundesliga match between FC Augsburg and FC Schalke 04 at WWK-Arena on November 3, 2019 in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

CAM Amine Harit

Amine Harit missed last Friday’s win over Gladbach with a thigh injury, but he returned to practice on Thursday and is ready to return to the starting lineup on Saturday. It will be exciting to see how he and new loan signing Michael Gregoritsch co-exist and support Benito Raman in the attack. Raman and Harit have always had good chemistry, while Gregoritsch and Raman are already clearly on the same page.

Out of all the players in the Schalke XI, Harit is the one with the most game-changing ability. He’s a smart passer, a ludicrously skillful dribbler, and a hard worker off the ball who is essentially David Wagner’s creative muse on the pitch. If Schalke are to beat Bayern, they need another transcendent performance from their premier playmaker.

CDM Omar Mascarell

Omar Mascarell is another player who must be at his best on Matchday 19, because he will have a tall task ahead of him. Although Bayern’s midfielders haven’t been at their world-class quality this season, the likes of Thiago and Joshua Kimmich pose a huge threat to any caliber of opponent. They are intelligent, technically proficient players who defend well and pass even better, as they are capable of controlling the game in front of them.

The same can be said, however, about Mascarell, who has honestly been the Bundesliga’s best holding midfielder in 2019-2020. He is the unsung hero to Schalke’s success under Wagner, and he may have to do the work of three men on Matchday 19.

More importantly, Mascarell’s awareness and ability to clean up interceptions will be key. He will be tasked with being a third center back at times.

Home/Schalke 04 News