FC Schalke 04: 5 key players to watch against Hertha BSC

ST Benito Raman

Schalke clearly missed Benito Raman last week against Bayern, as the Belgian international missed the match with an infection. There were so many more issues with the Royal Blues across the starting XI that Bayern took full advantage of in last week’s thrashing, but Raman’s absence hurt Schalke’s attack and pressing game greatly.

Raman’s chemistry with Amine Harit and Michael Gregoritsch will be a massive key to victory for Die Knappen on Friday. There’s a great chance he creates another goal for Schalke this week, as the breakout star has contributed seven goals and assists in 11 starts.

RB/RM Daniel Caligiuri

There’s no guarantee that Juan Miranda starts in this game, as the Barcelona loanee has only played a total of 257 minutes this season. But with Jonjoe Kenny out due to an illness, Miranda may have to play at either left back – with Bastian Oczipka swapping positions – or right back.

Daniel Caligiuri was a starting right wing back under Domenico Tedesco and was arguably Schalke’s best player during that time. So if David Wagner doesn’t want to make someone play an unfamiliar position on the right side of the defense, he could move Caligiuri back from midfield to fullback.

Although Caligiuri’s set pieces and tenacity have been strong this season, he’s shown signs of decline. Per WhoScored.com, he is completing only 66.7% of his passes and has only one assist. Defensively, he’s been fine, but five players have more tackles per game and seven have more interceptions per game than the Germany international.

He needs to prove he’s worthy of an extension, so this could be a huge game for Caligiuri, regardless of which position he plays.