Germany: Bundesliga
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Schalke 04
Leverkusen
J. Frimpong (50), F. Wirtz (61), S. Azmoun (90)
By Peter Weis@PeterVicey

Reis prepared to start Greiml against Bayer

Speaking at his Thursday pre-match presser, Schalke 04 head-coach Thomas Reis hinted strongly that Leo Greiml would start in central defense against Leverkusen on Saturday. 
Thomas Reis.
Thomas Reis.
Moritz Jenz's absence from the Schalke starting XI this weekend could have been addressed by moving current left-back Henning Matriciani inwards alongside Maya Yoshida and starting Thomas Ouwejan on the left. Schalke trainer Thomas Reis nevertheless revealed that this wasn't an option at his Thursday presser. The Dutch fullback, Reis revealed, wasn't ready to start just yet.

Tobias Mohr could still start at left-back, but Reis specifically stated that he was leaning towards giving 21-year-old Leo Greiml the go alongside Yoshida in this weekend's showdown against Leverkusen. Interestingly enough, previous Schalke trainer Frank Kramer gave Greiml an almost identical endorsement when the two clubs met in the reverse fixture last autumn.

"There's nothing to stop him [Greiml] at the moment," Reis remarked on Thursday, "He did well in last week's test fixture against Venlo and has recently been accruing a lot of match practice with the U23s."

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