Schalke: 5 players to watch against Mainz on Matchday 22
RB Timo Becker
Jonjoe Kenny remains a toss-up for Matchday 22 after missing the past couple of games with an injury. He’s been sorely missed, as Kenny is one of the best ball-progressing right backs in the Bundesliga. The England international does a great job of getting the ball into the box, and Schalke have missed his ability to support the attack.
That said, young backup Timo Becker looked game last week. Yes, it was against one of the league’s worst sides in Paderborn, but Becker more than held his own defensively, making a couple of good interventions on counterattacks. He offers nothing in the attack, but maybe that can change against Mainz.
CAM Amine Harit
Although Amine Harit was criticized by several fans for losing possession too easily against Paderborn last week, his sloppiness was more indicative of the pressure he faced as the lone man responsible for carrying out attacks. Gregoritsch stunk up the joint, Suat Serdar was injured, and nobody else was really stepping up to the plate, forcing Harit to try and do too much.
Harit is accountable for his mistakes and will be ready to have another massive game against Mainz. He won the game for Die Knappen when they faced Mainz in the Hinrunde, and he’s more than capable of doing it again on Sunday, perhaps even with a well-timed assist to Benito Raman or Gregoritsch.