Raul and Huntelaar expected to deliver for Schalke
Schalke 04 manager Felix Magath has said that his team will rely on the services of Raul Gonzalez and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as the club travels to face Olympique Lyonnais for its first fixture in this year's Champions League.
Magath won VfL Wolfsburg their first ever league title in 2009 before transferring to Schalke the following summer.
After a finishing second in the Bundesliga last year, Magath signed Raul from Real Madrid and brought Huntelaar in from Madrid this summer.
The two strikers have an excellent scoring record between them, and Magath has made no secret of the fact that he wishes them to deliver in Lyon on Tuesday.
"I hope Raul will score in his first Champions League match for us and I am sure he will have a good game. Klaas-Jan is a complete forward and therefore better than Kevin Kuranyi, which is guaranteed to benefit Raul," the manager said ahead of the fixture.
Striker Kuranyi, who scored seven European goals for the club between 2005 and 2010, left the club in May to play with Russian side Dynamo Moscow.
With Raul now in his ranks, Magath will not rue Kuranyi's departure, as the Spaniard is the Champions League's leading goalscorer with 66 goals in 132 games.
But Schalke's number 7 played down expectations that he would score for his new team in his European debut for the Germans. "A goal would be a dream but more importantly a victory for Schalke," he told Bild.
Pressure's off in Europe?
Magath's team have made a disastrous start to the Bundesliga season, losing three straight games. The manager insisted that the team will feel less pressure to perform in Europe, however.
"We have less pressure on us than in the Bundesliga because we travel to the group favourites," he said. "A point would be good to advance and will give us a boost for the derby with Dortmund."
Group B will also see Schalke face Portuguese champions SL Benfica and Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC.
Tags: