Much was expected of Schalke after their massive summer signings but their poor start to the season in all competitions has forced them to play catch-up. At the moment the Royal Blues are third from bottom in the German Bundesliga, having picked up just five points from eight matches.
However, things have looked slightly better on the continental front as Felix Magath’s side have collected three points from a possible six in the Champions League. Defeat to Olympique Lyonnais in France on Matchday One was expected given their abysmal run of form in the league and was to a reasonable extent acceptable too as they were playing away from home; but on Matchday Two Schalke got the better of Benfica at home, winning 2-0.
Nevertheless, Schalke cannot be overly confident of a win against Israeli champions Hapoel Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening especially as since their defeat of Benfica they have failed to win either of their two league fixtures. Ivan Rakitic knows the significance of a win at the Veltins-Arena but is also wary of the task at hand.
"We've watched Hapoel on video and we've talked about them at length but also know some of their players quite well because Croatia played in Israel in a European qualifier recently,'' said the Croatia international. “A lot of the Hapoel players are in the national team and so I was able to identify a few strengths and weaknesses.''
Getting Off The Mark
Hapoel Tel Aviv are the least favourites of the four sides to go through to the second round from Group B and, as expected, have lost both their matches in the Champions League.
Placed at the bottom of the group having conceded five goals already, the Israeli champions will have to get something against Schalke in Germany to maintain any realistic chance of finishing in the top two. However, Hapoel will be encouraged by their weekend performance in the league as they defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 in the derby.
Hapoel’s key player on Wednesday evening will be the highly rated striker Itay Shechter, who realises that they need to try to win and explains, "Playing well won't be enough. The time has come to take at least one point, if not three, in this competition.”
He added, "Schalke are an elite club with a big budget so a draw or a win would be good for us.
"The derby was the most important game for the club, a match that the fans waited for the entire season. I'm happy that we brought them pride and we maintained our dominance of the city. We are going to a match that is like the icing on the cake.''
TEAM NEWS
Schalke
Joel Matip has recovered from a bout of malaria and played at the weekend against Stuttgart while the previously injured Mario Gavranovic was only a substitute. Ivan Rakitic and Jefferson Farfan are fit to play but Levan Kenia, Tim Hoogland and Christian Pander are out.
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Avihay Yadin is doubtful for Wednesday evening’s game after suffering an ankle injury at the weekend. Mahran Lala is out after having undergone surgery on ruptured knee ligaments.
Prediction
Hapoel will be desperate for anything in Germany and so will be Schalke, who are in depressing form. The Israelis do have a chance but Schalke should just about edge them in the end.
Schalke 04 2-1 Hapoel 
