Schalke 04 vs Eintracht Frankfurt preview - Keller calls for consistency

Posted Friday, September 19, 2014 by PA

Having got it right in the Champions League in midweek, Schalke must now do the same in the Bundesliga against Eintracht Frankfurt to ensure the critics are kept at a distance.

Wednesday night's 1-1 draw at Chelsea was enough to lift some of the pressure mounting on coach Jens Keller after a difficult start to the season.

The Royal Blues have picked up just one point from their first three Bundesliga games and they need to improve on that if the midweek result is to count for more than just the point it earned them in their Champions League group.

"We've got to find a bit of consistency," Keller said. "People are always trying to unnerve us, but we've always managed to pull together and come out of situations like these."

For that, Keller intends to show his faith in Kevin-Prince Boateng, injury or no injury.

"He's got to play against Frankfurt, even if he has hurt his ankle," Keller told the Bild newspaper, who praised the Ghanaian for his performance at Stamford Bridge.

"It was extremely painful for him, but I told him to grit his teeth.

"He did that, marching on, winning tackles and playing good passes. You could see that when things are going well with him, then they also go well for us."

A fitness test will nevertheless be needed to determine whether Boateng can indeed run out at the Arena AufSchalke on Saturday.

A similar test will be undertaken by Frankfurt defender Bamba Anderson, who has been struck by a cold and intestinal flu this week.

"It's going to be tight for him," said Frankfurt coach Thomas Schaaf in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

Schaaf must also decide whether or not it is time for Alexander Meier to be brought back into the starting XI.

The attacking midfielder, the club's top goalscorer in two of the last three seasons, has lost his way under Schaaf, but the club's director of sport Bruno Hubner says his time will come.

"I've already said all there is to say about Alex, there is nothing more I can add," said Hubner.

"Maybe there is a bit too much pressure on him, or maybe he is putting himself under too much pressure.

"But everybody knows his quality and strength, he just needs to underline it. Only he can change the situation, but we've got to be cool about it otherwise we make it unnecessarily hard for him."