Buoyant Schalke 04 aiming to down Lyon

Schalke 04 are hoping their hammering of Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga will help give them a Champions League boost for Wednesday’s showdown with Group B leaders Lyon.

Although they are 15th in the Bundesliga, Schalke are second in the group and a win over Lyon would put them in pole-position to reach the Round of 16.

Captain and central defender Cris will miss Lyon’s trip to Gelsenkirchen with the 33-year-old nursing damaged knee ligaments.

Lyon won 3-1 at Lens in the French league on Sunday and they are now eighth in the table.

The French side are eager to get back to winning ways in the Champions League after seeing their chances of clinching a place in the last 16 with three matches remaining disappear when they lost at Benfica at the start of the month.

Having trailed 4-0 with jusat over 20 minutes remaining, the French side stormed back with three late strikes.

“We played like schoolkids for an hour and Benfica took advantage,” said striker Jimmy Briand.

In contrast, wins in their previous two European home games have left Schalke 04 with a strong chance of qualifying.

They are unbeaten in their last four games in all competitions and confidence is high after former Real Madrid striker Raul scored a hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Bremen last Saturday.

Since the beginning of the season, the 33-year-old Spaniard, has scored six goals in the Bundesliga and two in the Champions League, all at the Veltins Arena.

“It’s always special to score three goals, but what means more is that we really started to play as a team with authority in the second half,” said Raul.

Schalke coach Felix Magath had 15 players released before the start of the season and brought in 14 new signings including Raul and Germany defender Christoph Metzelder.

Metzelder headed the first goal against Bremen having struggled for form and has even been booed by his own fans.

For three months, Magath was visibly frustrated by the centre-back’s form as he put in a series of below-par performances.

But during their last seven games, including Champions League and German Cup matches, Schalke 04 have conceded just three goals and Metzelder’s improved form has been at the heart of their improved defensive effort.

“We finally found our form and there is a clear progression in our game,” said Metzelder.

“The first step was to have more stability in defence.”

When Raul scored his third goal on Saturday, Metzelder ran nearly the length of the field to congratulate him.

“It’s something I would not normally do, but this game marks a turning point for us,” he said.

Metzelder, 30, won the last of his 47 caps in the Euro 2008 final defeat to Spain and is under no illusion about his chances of winning back his place in the Germany team.

“I’m focused exclusively on Schalke 04,” he warns.