UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2015/16 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Arena AufSchalke - Gelsenkirchen Thursday 1 October 2015 19.00CET (19.00 local time) FC Schalke 04 Group K - Matchday 2 Asteras Tripolis FC Last updated 24/09/2015 16:04CET

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1 FC Schalke 04 - Asteras Tripolis FC Thursday 1 October 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen

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FC Schalke 04 will look to provide an early birthday present for coach Andre Breitenreiter as they take on Asteras Tripolis FC in UEFA Europa League Group K. Previous meetings • The clubs are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition. • Schalke's six games against Greek opposition have ended W3 D1 L2 (W1 D1 L1 at home – W2 D0 L1 in Greece). They are unbeaten in the most recent four of those matches (W3 D1). • Asteras's only previous tie against a German team ended well – they won 3-1 at home after a 1-0 away defeat to eliminate 1. FSV Mainz 05 in last season's UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. Current Schalke midfielder Johannes Geis featured in both legs for Mainz. Form guide • Schalke won 3-0 at APOEL FC on matchday one but they have lost their last two European home games without scoring: 5-0 against Chelsea FC and 2-0 against Real Madrid CF in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League. • Asteras are without a win in their last five European fixtures (D3 L2), having drawn their three most recent matches. • Schalke have made it to the round of 32 in two of their previous three UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns. They won the competition in 1997, beating FC Internazionale Milano on penalties in the two-legged final. • Asteras failed to get through to the round of 32 on their maiden group stage appearance last term. Trivia and links • The journey from Tripolis to Gelsenkirchen is not far off 2,000km. • Klaas-Jan Huntelaar needs two more goals to reach 50 in UEFA club competition. Just 13 players have achieved that mark so far. • Asteras left-back Kostas Giannoulis went to Germany to join 1. FC Köln in 2010 but left without making a first-team appearance. • Schalke's Austrian reserve goalkeeper Michael Gspurning has played in Greece for Xanthi FC (2007–12) as well as PAOK FC and Platanias FC (both 2014). The coaches • Andre Breitenreiter took over at Schalke in June, having led SC Paderborn 07 to promotion in 2013/14, then steered them momentarily to the top of the . An attacking midfielder, he began his career with Hannover 96 and Hamburger SV yet spent the bulk of his playing days in the lower leagues. • Breitenreiter turns 42 the day after the Asteras match. • After a serious knee injury cut short his playing career, Staikos Vergetis dedicated himself to coaching, coming to Asteras as a youth specialist in 2006. He worked in various capacities, under 11 different coaches, before finally being given the senior job in October 2013.

2 FC Schalke 04 - Asteras Tripolis FC Thursday 1 October 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen Legend Competitions

Club competitions National team competitions UCL: UEFA Champions League EURO: UEFA European Football Championship ECCC: European Champion Clubs' Cup WC: FIFA World Cup UEL: UEFA Europa League CONFCUP: FIFA Confederations Cup UCUP: UEFA Cup FRIE: Friendly internationals UCWC: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup U21FRIE: Under-21 friendly internationals SCUP: UEFA Super Cup U21: UEFA European Under-21 Championship UIC: UEFA Intertoto Cup U17: UEFA Under-17 Championship ICF: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup U16: UEFA European Under-16 Championship U19: UEFA Under-19 Championship U18: UEFA European Under-18 Championship WWC: FIFA Women's World Cup WEURO: UEFA European Women's Championship Competition stages Other abbreviations F: Final GS: Group stage (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties GS1: First group stage GS2: Second group stage No.: Number og: Own goal 3QR: Third qualifying round R1: First round ag: Match decided on away P: Penalty R2: Second round R3: Third round goals agg: Aggregate R4: Fourth round PR: Preliminary round Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances SF: Semi-finals QF: Quarter-finals Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition R16: round of 16 QR: Qualifying round Pts: Points D: Drawn R32: Round of 32 1QR: First qualifying round R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth 1st: first leg 2QR: Second qualifying Res.: Result ET: Extra Time round sg: Match decided by silver GA: Goals against 2nd: second leg FT: Final tournament goal t: Match decided by toss of a PO: Play-off ELITE: Elite round coin Rep: Replay 3rdPO: Third-place play-off GF: Goals for W: Won PO - FT: Play-off for Final GS-FT: Group stage – final gg: Match decided by golden Y: Booked Tournament tournament goal L: Lost Y/R: Sent off (two yellow Nat.: Nationality cards) N/A: Not applicable f: Match forfeited Statistics -: Denotes player substituted +: Denotes player introduced *: Denotes player sent off +/-: Denotes player introduced and substituted Squad list D: Disciplinary *: Misses next match if booked S: Suspended QUAL: All UEFA qualifiers UEL: Current season total UEFA Europa League appearances from the group stage onwards prior to the current matchday UEL: Total appearances in the UEFA Europa League, group stage to final only UEFA: All-time total appearances in UEFA club competition including qualifying Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com.

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