Benedikt Höwedes is set to miss his team's first Champions League game of the season after a partial tendon tear in his hip has ruled him out for several weeks. World Cup winner Höwedes is now the eighth player injured at Schalke, the majority of whom make up the club's defensive unit.

"Having this much bad luck is just crazy - it's brutal," said Schalke's Julian Draxler after hearing that Höwedes, the team's captain, would now also be missing for the crucial game on Wednesday (17.09.2014, kickoff at 18:45 UTC).

"When the captain is out, that's not great for the team obviously," said Schalke coach Jens Keller. "We have major problems but we will still find four guys for our defensive back line."

Teenagers Marvin Friedrich and Kaan Ayhan could now be Schalke's central defenders for the game. Against the attacking prowess of Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Andre Schürrle, they will definitely have their work cut out for them.

Despite Schalke going into the game as the clear underdog, Keller is trying to put on a brave face: "I am a positive-thinking person. In football, anything is possible."

Confident Chelsea

In contrast to Schalke, who have only managed one point from the first three rounds in the Bundesliga and were knocked out of the German Cup in the first round, Chelsea have started their season almost perfectly. They now have four wins in four Premier League games and coach Jose Mourinho seems to have his star ensemble all pulling in the same direction.

The form guide also puts Chelsea at a clear advantage. The two teams played last year in the Champions League and the London club won both matches decisively, 3-0.

Ribery injured

In the other Germany vs. England encounter on Wednesday, Bayern Munich will be missing a key player of their own when they take on Manchester City. Bayern coach Pep Guardiola has confirmed that the Frenchman Franck Ribery will miss the game due to ongoing patella problems in his left knee.

On Saturday, Ribery played his first match of the new Bundesliga season, coming on in the second half for Bayern and scoring his team's second goal. But, on Monday, he had to leave the training session half way through due to renewed pain in his knee.

"The situation is not optimal, but complaining doesn't help," said Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm ahead of his team's match against the current Premier League champions. "We still have a team that has a lot of quality though. We are still amongst the favorites."

Still, Bayern would be well served to take their first Champions League game of the new campaign seriously. Last season they lost their last group stage game against City 3-2, and nearly missed out on topping the group.

City's captain Vincent Kompany, who formerly played in the Bundesliga with Hamburg, still sees his team as the outsider ahead of the encounter despite the fact that they are improving.

"Bayern is currently among the top three clubs in the world," he said. "It's almost impossible to imagine a stronger opponent."