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What does the loss of key player Edin Dzeko mean for 2nd division leaders Schalke? The Bundesliga Update Podcast team discusses the question in detail. Dzeko injured his shoulder in the last second of the World Cup qualifying play-off final between Bosnia and Italy and will miss Schalke for several weeks.
It was probably the winter transfer that was talked about the most: Edin Dzeko is returning to Germany and is supposed to help second division club FC Schalke 04 in their promotion mission. Up to this point, Schalke had their place as autumn champions to thank primarily for their stable defense. But Dzeko delivered straight away: Since his signing, he has been directly involved in nine of his team’s 16 goals, scoring six goals himself. He was already missing from the top game against Darmstadt due to a red card suspension, and now the shock and shoulder injury on the international trip with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
setback for them Promotion ambitions or opportunity for others?
Against Darmstadt, Moussa Sylla came into the starting line-up as a replacement for Dzeko and immediately rewarded the trust of the coach, Miron Muslic, with a goal that was at least enough for a point in the end. “The support from the rest of the team has definitely become better than in the first half of the season, where Sylla played more often but remained pale,” says Jens Walbrodt, host of the Sportschau football podcast “Bundesliga Update”. Dzeko also benefited from other winter newcomers such as Adil Aouchiche and Dejan Ljubicic. Sylla could therefore serve as a serious replacement as long as Dzeko cannot play.
Podcast host and sports show presenter Anne Hillt sees a different approach for Schalke for the games without Edin Dzeko as a way to deal with the loss. “Schalke could go back to more defensive football, especially against direct competition.” The current leaders have won by one goal difference nine times in the first half of the season, four of which were 1-0. In the first half of the season, however, Schalke coach Muslic preferred a more defensive orientation with a five-man chain. Most recently, Schalke generally played with more offensive personnel.
Home games as a factor in the final spurt of the season?
Schalke will play four of the seven remaining games in front of their home crowd. The “slip-up teams”, as Jens Walbrodt describes the defeat in Braunschweig and the 0-0 draw in Münster in the first half of the season in the current episode of the Bundesliga Update, have to come up against the twelfth man in royal blue this time too.
Relegation place: Still chances for Hertha BSC?
The football podcast team sees SV Darmstadt 98 as another direct climber. However, they do not agree on the subject of the relegation place. Anne Hilt sees SV Elversberg there. Jens Walbrodt sees Hertha BSC there.
Also: A look at all the games on the Bundesliga match day
The 28th matchday in the Bundesliga also offers excitement – where the top game between VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund not only promises excitement on the pitch, in the current episode our hosts also talk about the tensions in the environment of the two clubs.
The Bundesliga update – every Thursday and Monday
The Bundesliga update is available on ARD Sounds, wherever there are podcasts and on the Sportschau football channel on YouTube. New episodes appear on Thursday afternoons and Monday mornings.
