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PAOK
Champions League | Playoffs
Aug 27, 2013 at 7.45pm UK
 
Schalke

2-3

Athanasiadis (53'), Katsouranis (79')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Szalai (43', 90'), Draxler (67')
Jones (64')

Schalke 04 coach Jens Keller: 'We are under huge pressure'

Schalke 04 coach Jens Keller admits that his side are feeling the pressure to beat PAOK tonight and earn a place in the Champions League group stages.

Schalke 04 coach Jens Keller has declared that victory in tonight's Champions League qualifier against PAOK is absolutely imperative.

Keller's side have made a poor start to the Bundesliga, failing to win any of their first three matches.

Patchy league form was compounded by a 1-1 home draw with PAOK in the first leg last week, giving Schalke a tough task in Northern Greece to make the group stages.

The under-fire boss admitted that his side are under huge pressure to turn the tie round, but can draw on the experience of reaching the knockout stages last season.

He told reporters: "This is a very important match for the club, for everybody at Schalke. The pressure would be huge in any case, regardless of our run in the league.

"The 1-1 first-leg result is not ideal, but it is not fatal. We experienced the inverse scenario last season when we drew 1-1 with Galatasaray in Istanbul and then got eliminated at home.

"We have worked hard to reach this point. If we make it to the group stage, the team stand to benefit a lot from their participation in the Champions League."

Dutch striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar misses the tie for Schalke through injury, while Joel Matip and Leon Goretzka will both face late fitness tests.

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Schalke's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is congratulated by team mate Christian Fuchs after scoring his second goal against Hamburg on August 11, 2013
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

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Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

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Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

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Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

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Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

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Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


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