Today at 2:45 p.m. ET, Steaua Bucuresti and Schalke 04 go head-to-head in UEFA Champions League Group E action live from Romania. The game can be live streamed here.
Schalke is looking to book their place in the last 16 of the Champions League today, but Bucuresti enters play knowing about the importance of the game and looking to spoil their plans.
A victory for Schalke combined with a Chelsea win over Basel will stamp their ticket to the final 16.
"We want our ticket for the last 16 as quickly as we can get it," captain Benedikt Howedes told ESPN. "That's why we want to wrap it up already in Bucharest."
If Schalke fails to win, it knows it can fall back on its meeting with Basel in their final group game as a chance to get in.
"It's not an all-or-nothing game," Howedes added on his club's website. "There's always another game to be played, but of course we want to get the three points."
Schalke will look for a better effort today after a tough weekend match saw the team blow a 2-0 lead en route to a 3-3 tie at Eintracht Frankfurt.
"We're going to have to give it our utmost, every single one of us," Howedes said via ESPN. 'We know it's not going to be a walk in the park. We saw in the reverse fixture that they have quality."
Goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand and midfielder Leon Goretzka are both out with injuries and didn't travel with the team for this important match.
Steaua coach Laurentiu Reghecampf knows its do-or-die for his team.
"This is our last chance," he said at the pre-match press conference per ESPN. "If we don't win, we're out, which is why winning is our only option."
Schalke looks to advance while Steaua tries to keep their hopes alive when these teams cross paths today
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