Sand out to sink Brondby
Schalke's Danish striker Ebbe Sand says that he will help fire his side to a comfortable Uefa Cup victory over former club Brondby.
The German side play host to Brondby in the first leg of their second round encounter.
"Where technique is concerned, I don't believe we are better than Brondby who play impressive football and are well organized," Sand told BT.
"But we have got a physical advantage and we are used to playing at a faster pace in the Bundesliga.
"We are also boosted by the positive experience of the 2-0 win versus Bayern Munich.
"We shall play at the same level against Brondby and not give them space for their neat combinations.
"Should we succeed with that, we will win.
"It is tremendously important to keep a clean sheet in the Uefa Cup.
"I would be pleased with 1-0 as starting point for the return leg in Brondby and 2-0 would be fantastic."
Sand was a fans favourite during his time at Brondby but will now be hoping to dump his old side out of the tournament.
Coming up against the German's will be Michael Laudrup's side, and the former Real Madrid man has his team playing in his own stylish way.
Laudrup is relishing the trip to Gelsenkirchen, and is optimistic of a positive result.
"We have proven that we can do really well here at home and we have shown that we can beat Eastern European sides," said Laudrup.
"I am now looking forward to finding out if we got the qualities to beat a side from one of the best four leagues in Europe.
"It will be two very tight matches, where the form on the day and luck will be decisive."
Laudrup is confident his players can cope with the atmosphere in the AufSchalke Arena, but promised his side would not be going just for a goalless draw.
"A lot will depend on how the side will cope with the environment.
"The players have got used to playing in front of 15 to 20,000 spectators at Brondby Stadion and they will have to cope well with the matches versus FCK at Parken with 40,000 fans.
"But with up to 60,000 spectators at Schalke, they will experience a different pressure.
"We shall dare to play the ball and not just kick it away. Otherwise, we will get problems.
"Schalke is a club with a lot of money and the foreign players have given the side a quality boost.
"Although there are not that many Germans in the side, it is a classic, physically strong Bundesliga side.
"We have kept a clean sheet numerous times, but we shall not go for a 0-0 draw at Schalke.
"We shall score down there."
