Two clubs chasing UEFA Champions League glory will do battle today in a match between Schalke 04 and NK Maribor. The group-stage match scheduled for 2:45 p.m. ET will be held at the Veltins Arena in Schalke and can be live streamed here free. Additional TV coverage can be found on Fox Soccer Plus.
Schalke 04 manager Jens Keller had this to offer ahead of today's European encounter (via UEFA): "Tomorrow is the group stage of the Champions League. Every player wants to be there, it is a real event when that music plays. It will not be a problem to motivate the team for this, even after such a big derby at the weekend [against Borussia Dortmund]. We have to take the three points. We are favorites, no doubt about that. But we also know things don't happen by themselves."
"A team that beats Celtic and holds Sporting [Lisbon] at home has quality," he added. "Maribor defend very deep. They deny opponents space, they are very compact. They are especially good at set pieces. There will not be a lot of space and it will be a tight game. I will not elaborate on how we plan on opening them up."
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Schalke 04's Julian Draxler has been instrumental in the club's early season success. The 21-year-old has one goal in four appearances and is averaging two take-ons per match.
Schalke 04's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Fährmann; Höger, Matip, Neustädter, Fuchs; Boateng, Aogo; Clemens, Meyer, Draxler; Huntelaar
Maribor's Projected Lineup (4-4-2): Handanovič; Stojanovič, Rajčevič, Šuler, Viler; Vršič, Mertelj, Filipović, Bohar; Ibraimi, Tavares
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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