The http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Royal-95-c40387 Blues are determined to rip apart Athletic Bilbao and reach the final of the competition on May 9.
Schalke have been drawn against Spanish La Liga outfit, Athletic Bilbao, in the last-eight of the UEFA Europa League and their sporting director Horst Heldt is targeting a place in the final of the competition.
Heldt has expressed his desire to beat Bilbao, who have been on the rise since qualifying for the knock-out phase from Group J.
The Veltins-Arena outfit faced http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Twente-c39233 in the knock-out phase and went on to win 4-2 on aggregate. Heldt admitted that it would not be an easy task to beat Bilbao, who recently completed a double over Premier League giants Manchester
United.
The chief stated that The Lions have been getting better with every passing game and therefore Schalke will have their work cut out. Heldt claimed that the winner of Bilbao-Schalke game will reach the final of the competition to
be played on May 9.
While talking to official club website, the sporting director further added: "It's a tough draw, but we have the same ambition [as Bilbao] of reaching the final. But, in order to do that, we must be wary that our opponents get
stronger with each round."
On the other hand, Schalke manager, Huub Stevens also commented on his team’s chances of playing the final at the Arena Nationala. He opined that if the Royal Blues show the same class as they did against Twente in the second-leg
then they will definitely be one of the finalists.
The tactician explained that playing the first-leg at home could be good for his side. He reckons that Schalke can pressurise their opponents by scoring at least three goals at home and then try defending their lead in the second-leg
in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011.
"They've beaten Manchester United twice - that says a lot about Bilbao's strength. They are good collectively. The fact that we play first at home makes no difference to me. Home advantage only plays a role if it goes to extra
time," The boss concluded.
The Gelsenkirchen outfit will host the first-leg on March 29 before Bilbao invite Schalke for the return leg on April 5.
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