JuicyTalk
As much as Miron Muslic is excited about meeting Jose Mourinho, the Schalke head coach says the Portuguese and Real Madrid will not distract his side from their “more important” game coming up eight days later.
Schalke’s season starts away to fourth-tier Hallescher in the German Cup on August 24 (19:45 BST), making the “privilege” of hosting the 15-time European champions an important chance to prepare for that tie.
“He’s a great coach who has had an absolutely fantastic career,” Muslic said of Mourinho. “We’re already thinking about our game in Halle. We’ll have to be ready for that.
“There’s so much we can learn from games like these… and it’s also Real’s last friendly before they begin their La Liga campaign.”
Madrid beat promoted Deportivo 1-0 away through Brahim Diaz’s goal during first-half added time on Wednesday.
“The team is progressing in every aspect but the difficulty of the matches, as we’ve planned with this goal in mind, is increasing,” Mourinho told Madrid TV.
“A positive thing is that the team is growing. We’re taking it step by step and, next week, we’ll be serious.”
The first competitive match of Mourinho’s second spell in charge is at Espanyol in La Liga on August 22 (20:30 BST).
Schalke v Madrid team news
New signing Robin Gosens took part in “most of” Schalke training on Wednesday following a thigh injury the wideman sustained earlier this month.
Captain Kenan Karaman has also been back in training, having suffered a bruised pelvis in the 3-0 home defeat to Atalanta last Saturday.
Junior Dina Ebimbe has been training individually because of an ankle knock the new winger picked up against La Dea.
Defender Eder Militao, midfielder Thiago Pitarch and forward Rodrygo are all out for Madrid with knee injuries, as is Ferland Mendy (tendon).
Forward Endrick (hamstring) did not join Madrid’s training on Friday, but midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni (calf) and defender Raul Asencio (muscle) participated in part of the session.
Schalke v Real Madrid predicted line-ups
Schalke starting XI: Loris Karius, Timo Becker, Mertcan Ayhan, Hasan Kurucay, Junior Dina Ebimbe, Soufiane El-Faouzi, Satoshi Tanaka, Vitalie Becker, Kenan Karaman, Adil Aouchiche, Junior Adamu
Real Madrid starting XI: Andrii Lunin, Denzel Dumfries, Antonio Rudiger, Dean Huijsen, Alvaro Carreras, Brahim Diaz, Bernardo Silva, Arda Guler, Eduardo Camavinga, Vinicius Junior, Carlos Espi
Where to watch Schalke v Madrid: TV and online streams
Kick-off on Sunday is at 16:00 BST (10:00 ET / 07:00 PT). Live coverage in the UK is on DAZN, which costs £15.99 a month, with live streaming on the DAZN app.
Schalke v Real Madrid stats
- Schalke suffered a 4-2 defeat in their only meeting with a Spanish side last season, Moussa Sylla and Mauro Zalazar scoring in front of almost 46,000 fans in a friendly in July 2025 in Gelsenkirchen
- Their last competitive meeting with a Spanish team was against Madrid in the Champions League last 16 in March 2015, winning 4-3 away but exiting 5-4 on aggregate
- That is Schalke’s only win over Madrid, losing 6-1 at home and 3-1 away at the same stage of the 2013/14 competition in their other encounters
- Madrid all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in three of those matches and once in another for a total of seven goals against Schalke
- In competitive games against Spanish teams, Schalke’s record is W8 D7 L12, last prevailing in such a match with a 3-1 home victory over Valencia in the 2010/11 Champions League last 16 to complete a 4-2 aggregate win
- Promoted as champions last season, The Royal Blues won three more matches (21) than any other team in the second tier and had the best defensive record by eight goals, conceding 31 times across 34 league games
- Loris Karius kept two more clean sheets (13) than any other goalkeeper in the division, twice helping Schalke keep four clean sheets across five consecutive matches in the league
- The last three Spanish clubs to visit Schalke competitively have won, including Athletic Club triumphing 4-2 in the 2011/12 Europa League quarter-finals as part of a tie they won 6-4 on aggregate
- Los Blancos’ competitive record against German teams is W44 D16 L26, although they lost both such games last season with a 2-1 home defeat and 4-3 away loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals
- They had won their preceding four such matches as part of a nine-game unbeaten run against German clubs (W7 D2)
Schalke v Madrid prediction
Prediction: Schalke 1-1 Madrid
The proximity to meaningful action could produce a tight match reflecting Schalke’s defensive rigour and Mourinho’s pragmatic tactics. The hosts will be keen to at least avoid successive heavy defeats.
