The Basque club travel to Gelsenkirchen looking for an away goal
Veltins-Arena — Gelsenkirchen
Referee: Pedro Garcia Proenca
Team News
Schalke 04
Timo Hildebrand will continue between the posts with Lars Unnerstall still injured.
Benedikt Howedes has not played in nearly 4 weeks, so Uchida should continue at right back. Manager Stevens has a consistency about his team selection, especially given current injuries, and could well field his usual starting XI here.
probable lineups : Hildebrand, Fuchs, Papadopoulos, Matip, Uchida, Jones, Holtby, Draxler, Raul, Farfan, Huntelaar. (4-2-3-1).
| Mar 24, 2012 | Schalke 04 2 - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0 | |
| Mar 18, 2012 | 1. FCK 1 - Schalke 04 4 | |
| Mar 15, 2012 | Schalke 04 4 - Twente 1 | |
| Mar 11, 2012 | Schalke 04 3 - Hamburg 1 | |
| Mar 8, 2012 | Twente 1 - Schalke 04 0 |
Athletic Bilbao
Star striker Fernando Llorente played most of the 90 against Sporting Gijon at the weekend, and should be fine to play despite carrying a minor injury. Fellow striker Toquero is a doubt and is significantly less likely to play. Coach Marcelo Bielsa is without the injured David Lopez, Carlos Gurpegi, Xabi Castillo and Igor Martinez, though none of those injuries should affect the starting lineup, which could well be the same one that overcame Manchester United so impressively in the previous round.
probable lineups : Iraizoz, Iraola, Amorebieta, Jose, Aurtenetxe, Martinez, Iturraspe, Susaeta, Marcos, Muniain, Llorente. (4-2-3-1).
| Mar 25, 2012 | Athletic Bilbao 1 - Sporting de Gijon 1 | |
| Mar 21, 2012 | Atletico Madrid 2 - Athletic Bilbao 1 | |
| Mar 18, 2012 | Athletic Bilbao 0 - Valencia CF 3 | |
| Mar 15, 2012 | Athletic Bilbao 2 - Man Utd. 1 | |
| Mar 11, 2012 | Osasuna 2 - Athletic Bilbao 1 |
Head to Head
Match Facts
Athletic Bilbao have won their last 3 matches in UEFA Europa League. : Athletic Bilbao win.
There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Athletic Bilbao's last 6 games in UEFA Europa League. : Over 2.5 goals
Schalke 04 are undefeated in 10 of their last 11 matches in UEFA Europa League. : Schalke 04 win or draw.
Prediction
Schalke host Athletic Bilbao in one of the two Europa League Quarter finals between German and Spanish sides. The home side came through the last round in emphatic style, beating Twente 4-1 in their home leg having lost 1-0 away. As these results suggest, they have a significantly better record at home this season than they do away from Gelsenkirchen, and they will look to establish a lead in this leg ahead of the trip to Spain next week. The German side have won their last 4 games in a row and will be confident of a positive result.
Athletic Bilbao will need to rediscover the form that saw them so comprehensively outplay Manchester United on two occasions. Since winning at Old Trafford, they have won only 1 of their 5 games - the second leg victory over United. They have lost 3 of the other 4 and have looked a shadow of the team that beat the English Champions.
The Europa League's top scorer this season, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, will be Athletic's biggest worry. The Dutchman has scored 14 goals in his last 9 matches in all competitions for club and country, and will need to be stopped if Athletic are to stand any chance of getting a result here. Schalke's recent good form, coupled with Athletic's blip, as well as a home advantage for the German side, should mean Schalke get a win, but expect a few goals and the tie to still be winnable for either side going into the second leg.
Schalke 04 3 - 2 Athletic Bilbao
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