Hannover play their first match since the death of goalkeeper Robert Enke on Saturday when they make a trip to Gelsenkirchen to take on Schalke.
The club has been in mourning since Enke committed suicide on 10 November, but they have vowed to play the remainder of the season in his honor. Prior to Enke's death, Hannover extended an unbeaten run to three games with a dramatic 2-2 draw with Hamburg.
Schalke, who sit fourth in the table and four points back of leaders Bayer Leverkusen, are unbeaten in their last six league matches. The last three, however, have all been draws including a 1-1 result at Bayern Munich before the international break.
Florian Fromlowitz has the unenviable task of replacing Enke in goal for Hannover on Saturday. In addition, Sofian Chahed, continues to miss out due to injury. Leon Andreasen, Mikael Forssell, Mike Hanke and Jan Schlaudraff all continue their recoveries from surgery.
Schalke are without striker Gerald Asamoah, midfielder Levan Kenia and the suspended Carlos Zambrano (five yellow cards). Jermaine Jones is also yet to resume full training as he recovers from a leg injury.
It will be a very emotional day at Veltins-Arena, and that emotion could have a number of possible effects on Hannover. Look for Schalke to squeak by in a close one as Hannover look to grab a result for their fallen comrade.
REVIEW:
Schalke remained in third spot in the Bundesliga on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Hannover, who played their first game since the death of goalkeeper and skipper Robert Enke 11 days ago.
Enke's replacement, Florian Fromlowitz, was crucial to Hannover's success in the first half when he stopped nicely from Christoph Moritz's drive.
Hannover also had chances in the opening half, as both Didier Ya Konan and Jiri Stajner came close as the half ended 0-0.
In the second half, both sides played flowing football on each end, but it was Schalke that went in front in the 69th minute when Peruvian striker Jefferson Farfán headed home a corner kick by Rafinha.
Schalke turned on the pressure in search for the second, and it finally came after several chances when Jan Moravek pounced on the rebound when Fromlowitz made a fine save off a shot by Moritz.