Team news

Metzelder craving perfect performance Schalke defender Christoph Metzelder believes his side will need to be at their best to overcome Viktoria Plzen in their Europa League last-32 tie.

Freezing conditions will welcome the Bundesliga side in the Czech Republic on Thursday night, where the Royal Blues will be looking to right the wrongs from last Saturday's 3-0 Bundesliga defeat by Borussia Monchengladbach.

However, the 31-year-old insisted the loss, which boosted Gladbach above rivals Schalke into third place in the table, has now been forgotten.

"The defeat at Gladbach hurt a lot, especially in view of the way we performed, but the time for licking our wounds is over," Metzelder told www.schalke04.com.

"The good thing about football is that you get a chance to make amends relatively quickly and this is a chance we're all really determined to take against Viktoria Plzen.

"Considering the weather and the opposition, we know we have a battle on our hands. We have to give as good as we get from the first minute to the last.

"The game won't be decided until the second leg, however, so we need to play intelligently and put ourselves in a good position for the return when we can seal our progression to the next round in front of own fans at the Arena." But Metzelder admitted he knows little about their opponents, who joined the Europa League competition after they finished third behind Barcelona and AC Milan in their Champions League group.

"Viktoria Plzen are very awkward opponents, that's for sure," Metzelder said. "We don't know too much about them, so it's all the more important for us to focus totally on the game and prepare meticulously.

"They're capable of playing very attractive football, as they showed in the Champions League against Milan." Plzen manager Pavel Vrba knows the key for the Czech champions is to avoid focusing on Schalke's latest defeat.

"We play the first game at home which means that we need a good result," Vrba told www.sport.cz. "Firstly, we can not give any goals away.

Plzen vs Schalke 04

Last modified 20:22 16/02/12

Huntelaar rescues draw for Schalke Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's close-range strike earned Schalke a 1-1 draw with Czech champions Viktoria Plzen in the first leg of their Europa League round of 32 tie.

The Dutch international cancelled out Vladimar Darida's first-half volley with a potentially crucial away goal that gives Schalke the edge going into the second leg.

The winners of the tie will meet either Steaua Bucharest or Steve McClaren's FC Twente in the last 16.

Huntelaar was Schalke's only real goal threat all evening and he forced a smart early save from Plzen goalkeeper Marek Cech, who turned his 18-yard shot behind for a corner.

Christian Fuchs then picked out Huntelaar near the penalty spot but Cech was again equal to the right-footed shot as Plzen weathered the early pressure.

Plzen took the lead after 22 minutes with their first shot on target - and only their second effort of the match - with a magnificent low strike from Darida.

Pavel Horvath had already tried his luck from 30 yards when he turned provider, collecting a short corner and picking out Darida on the edge of the box.

The 21-year-old midfielder met the lofted cross with a left-foot volley that angled across Schalke goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall and inside the far post.

Plzen, who drew 2-2 with AC Milan in the Champions League earlier this season, went in search of a second before the interval but Frantisek Rajtoral's 20-yard strike was tipped behind for a corner.

Schalke began to turn the tide - but still they could not find that priceless away goal, with Joel Matip directing a header wide from 12 yards.

Cech was called into action twice in quick sucecssion to deny Schalke, first to block Huntelaar's close-range strike and then to deal with the subsequent corner.

Schalke sent on Jefferson Farfan and Ciprian Marica and the changes soon paid dividends, with the pair combining in bizarre fashion to create the equaliser after 75 minutes.