The Royal Blues made a strong comeback last season after a series of disappointing performances in the 2010-11 campaign. The side proved their worth with a brilliant third-place finish, hence, qualifying for the UEFA Champions
League group stage.
Die Knappen were only behind the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich on the Bundesliga standings table and will be looking to improve on their position in the upcoming season. The team has had a relatively quiet summer
transfer window as they have not been any major additions to the squad.
Schalke have made only two major signings which includes the additions of midfielders http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Tranquillo-Barnetta-c35516 and Roman Neustadter on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach respectively.
Bettor.com will look at the possible starting XI of the Gelsenkirchen based side in the new season:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Timo-Hildebrand-c35115 signed a one-year extension to his deal with the club, raising claims for his place in the starting line-up. The goalkeeping position is where there is arguably the toughest competition for Schalke next season as
the likes of Hildebrand, Lars Unnerstall and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ralf-c30492 Fahrmann will have to fight it out for a starting berth.
It is highly likely that Huub Stevens will go with an experienced campaigner in the form of Hildebrand, who also has Champions League experience to his name.
Benedikt Howedes and Joel Matip are certain to start in the heart of defence with Christian Metzelder on the bench. The duo were brilliant last season as they formed a strong partnership and led their side to a top four finish.
Kyriakos Papadopoulos and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Royal-95-c40387 Blues. Both defenders are capable of making strong positive runs forward
and will help the team in creating chances.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lewis-Holtby-c22175, who has been impressive in the midfield and has been constantly linked with a move to the English Premier League, will start in the centre of midfield whereas new signing Roman Neustadter is also primed for a role
in the centre.
The likes of Barnetta and Jefferson Farfan will be deployed on the wings to provide support for the attack. Barnetta, who played for Bayer Leverkusen previously, refused to sign a new deal and was brought in by the Royal Blues
earlier in the summer.
Julian Draxler has been widely tipped to fill in the boots of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Raul-c30652, who left the club to play in the Middle East. The youngster has the ability to score goals and will be a huge threat when playing in the second striker role next
season.
Despite the heavy round of speculation going on in the past few weeks, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Klaas-Jan-Huntelaar-c21175 is expected to stay at Veltins-Arena for the next campaign. The striker had a tremendous season last term as he won the Bundesliga Golden
Boot Award after scoring a staggering 29 goals.
All in all, Schalke have a strong team to compete in the league next term, but the quality may not be enough to down the likes of Bayern Munich and Dortmund. The team will certainly be happy with a top four finish once again.
Expected line-up: Hildebrand, Papadopoulos, Howedes, Matip, Fuchs, Farfan, Neustadter, Holtby, Barnetta, Draxler, Huntelaar
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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