Top 4 hopefuls Schalke take on relegation-threatened Wolfsburg in the DFB Pokal quarter-final clash, where both sides will be looking to raise their spirits by qualifying for the semis.

The Miners have done pretty well this season, spending the majority of the campaign in top 4, although they currently occupy fifth position in the overall standings.

Schalke slipped to fifth after the unexpected home loss to struggling Werder Bremen, where they conceded two late goals after Matija Nastasic had been sent off.

The Serbian defender’s sending off really changed the course of the game and the Miners now need to try and return to the right track as soon as possible.

Schalke have been blowing hot and cold since the winter break, recording a win, a draw and two defeats, and they need to raise their form in order to realise pre-season ambitions.

The good news is that Matija Nastasic is available for the visit of Wolfsburg, while new signing Baba Rahman is unlikely to feature.

Probable starting line-up (3-4-2–1): Fahrmann – Kehrer, Naldo, Nastasic – Caligiuri, Bentaleb, Meyer, Oczipka – Harit, Konoplyanka – Di Santo.

Wolfsburg have largely struggled since lifting their only Bundesliga trophy in 2009, and they are again closer to the relegation zone than European positions.

Having won mere four games so far (second worst record in Bundesliga), the Wolves find themselves four points clear of the bottom three.

The team did manage to show some improvement since the winter break, taking seven points from games vs Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hannover and Stuttgart, while they are also vying for the DFB Pokal semi-final berth.

Wolfsburg played out a 1-1 draw with Stuttgart at the weekend as Divock Origi’s opener was canceled out by Mario Gomez, and they now face another difficult encounter.

There have been no fresh injury worries for boss Martin Schmidt, but January recruit Admir Mehmedi could be handed his first start.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Casteels – Verhaegh, Bruma, Knoche, Tisserand – Guilavogui, Arnold – Steffen, Didavi, Malli – Origi.