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MSV Duisburg vs. Schalke 04 – DFB Pokal Final preview

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MSV Duisburg vs. Schalke 04 – DFB Pokal Final preview
Ruhr district final in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Berlin-c7536
Olympiastadion, Berlin will see Bundesliga 2 side, MSV Duisburg face Schalke 04 in the final of the DFB Pokal on May 21, 2011.
Ending a topsy-turvy season
Schalke would be hoping to end a topsy-turvy season by winning their first silverware since 2002, when they won the DFB Pokal by beating Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in front of a 70,000 strong crowd at the Olympiastadion.
The Royal Blues head into the final as strong favourites to win the DFB Pokal for the fifth time in their history. Schalke coach, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ralf-c30492 Rangnick, was confident of winning his first silverware for Schalke and while talking to media in a pre-match press conference,
the German said, "We're not afraid. We're confident of winning the game, provided we play to our normal level."
However, Rangnick downplayed the aspect of him winning his first silverware at Schalke by saying that he succeeded the former coach, Felix Magath, in early April, and the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Royal-95-c40387 Blues had already secured a final berth by that time.
Schalke keen to make amends for a poor season
The overarching significance of winning the DFB Pokal would mean that Schalke will qualify for next season’s UEFA Europa League. However, for the club’s http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sporting-89-c40576 director, Horst Heldt, redeeming and ending the season on a high is far more important. Heldt
rightly pointed out that at no point this season did Schalke lived up to the fans’ high expectations.
Schalke finished the 2010/11 Bundesliga campaign in 14th place. Though the Royal Blues made a great start when Rangnick came in, the club has once again seen a major dip in form. Heading into the final, Schalke are on a six-game losing streak,
a run that could play a major factor in the outcome of the final.
Memories of Schalke’s fine run to the last four of UEFA Champions League would indeed be forgotten if the Royal Blues taste defeat at hands of the Bundesliga 2 side.
Punching above their weight
The last time Duisburg played in the final of the DFB Pokal was in the 1997/98 season, when MSV lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich. It should be noted that Duisburg beat Bundesliga sides FC Cologne (2-1) and then Kaiserslautern (2-0) to book a place in the final.
This means that Duisburg might turn out to be worthy opponents and would surely test Schalke http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Defence-c38904 that has been shaky throughout the current campaign.
Injury woes for Zebras
While Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick has no injury worries ahead of the final, Milan Sasic of Duisburg will have to do without the services of influential http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Julian-Koch-c19919. The duo has not recovered from cruciate ligament
injuries.
Meanwhile, Ivica Grlic, Benjamin Kern and Stefan Maierhofer are still battling to overcome their respective injuries. In spite of all the injury worries, Sasic was in good mood and looked on the brighter side of things. "Maybe we can spring a tactical surprise
on Schalke, seeing as we don't know ourselves yet who'll be playing," said the former Yugoslavia international.
Probable starting XI
Duisburg: Yelldell - B. Kern, Reiche, Bajic, Veigneau - Banovic, Sukalo - Yilmaz, Grlic, Sahan – Schäffler
Schalke: Neuer - Uchida, Höwedes, Metzelder, Escudero - Papadopoulos, Kluge - Farfan, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Raul-c30652, Jurado – Huntelaar
Prediction
While Schalke have been in poor form recently, the Royal Blues seem able to come back to winning ways as they face a team that finished eighth in Bundesliga football two this season. With Duisburg missing several key players, Milan Sasic will have to work
on a strategy that could catch Schalke on the counter, another weak point of the Royal Blues this season.
Predicted final score: Schalke 04 1-0 MSV Duisburg

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