For Schalke, all hopes of continuing their Champions League dream seems loss. They were outplayed in the first leg against Manchester United so badly some have wondered whether it was the worst Champions League semifinal performance in the history of the tournament, and they travel to Old Trafford looking to overturn a two-goal deficit. United have lost no games at home this season, and have never lost by more than one at Old Trafford against European competition.
Manchester United Vs. Schalke 04, 2011 UEFA Champions League Semifinal: Schalke Lineup
In other words, a comeback would be rather thoroughly unlikely here. That said, Schalke should be much improved from last week’s side. In is first-choice centre back Benedikt Howedes, which should sharpen up the defence. Also in are youngsters Julian Draxler and Sergio Escudero, who will be doing their best to drive United’s right side crazy. Schalke still don’t exactly have a stout defence, but should they somehow score an early goal, things will get really interesting.
Schalke 04 (4-2-3-1): Manuel Neuer; Sergio Escudero, Christoph Metzeldar, Benedikt Howedes, Atsuto Uchida; Jose Jurado, Kyriakos Papadopoulos; Julian Draxler, Alexander Baumjohann, Jefferson Farfan; Raul.
Substitutes: Mathias Schober, Hans Sarpei, Edu, Lukas Schmitz, Ali Karimi, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Joel Matip.
See More:
