Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke: Preview and Prediction
The fabled Revierderby is back after Schalke’s promotion to the Bundesliga and for the first time since February 2021, the two historic rivals will come face to face this weekend at the Signal Iduna Park. This rivalry has a long-running history and a lot has changed in recent years.
The Derby got its name after Schalke defeated Borussia Dortmund 4-2 in the 1924-25 season, and since then it has been nicknamed the ‘mother of all derbies’ in Germany. The Royal Blues were the dominant force in this contest until the 1990s, after which everything changed. Cut to the present, they are in opposite spectrums, while BVB is chasing Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title, Frank Kramer’s side will be fighting for survival.
Dortmund has won the last three meetings between these teams, and not since the 1960s have they won four consecutive Revierderbies. In those three matches, Schalke has failed to find the back of the net, thus the onus will be on them to lay down a marker.
Just two weeks ago, Edin Terzic’s side was joint-top in the Bundesliga standings, and now they’ve lost two matches back-to-back. Their rivals meanwhile have only just won their first match of the new league campaign, as they defeated fellow relegation side VfL Bochum 3-1.
Current Form
The Black and Yellows had been near flawless under Terzic since the start of the season except for their previous two matches. After two wins in two league games at the start of the Bundesliga campaign, BVB suffered a collapse against Werder Bremen but redeemed themselves to win three games in a row.
Last week, they endured another 0-3 reverse against RB Leipzig followed by a 2-1 loss at the hands of Manchester City in midweek. Currently, Dortmund is in fifth place with 12 points from six league games.
By stark contrast, Schalke has had a stuttering start upon their return to the top-flight. The Royal Blues suffered a 1-3 reverse in the opening fixture followed by two draws, after which they went down 6-1 against Union Berlin. Following another draw, Kramer finally guided his side to their first win of the Bundesliga campaign so far.
Ahead of this weekend’s Revierderby, the club from Gelsenkirchen occupies the 12th place in the league table having won just six points from as many games.
Team News
Jude Bellingham is in line to make his 100th competitive appearance for BVB on Saturday
As far as the hosts are concerned they won’t be able to call upon the likes of Mateu Morey and Mahmoud Dahoud. Sebastian Haller is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, while the pair of Gregor Kobel and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are doubtful for this clash.
Thorgan Hazard, Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi have recovered from their respective knocks and could be in line to feature against Schalke.
Alexander Meyer will likely keep his place between the sticks with Thomas Meunier, Mats Hummels, Nico Schlotterbeck, and Raphael Guerreiro likely to make up the back four. Terzic opted for a 4-3-3 against City and will be expected not to tinker much, hence the trio of Jude Bellingham, Emre Can, and Salih Ozcan could keep their place in the side from the midweek game. Up front, Karim Adeyemi, Anthony Modeste, and Marco Reus could lead the attack.
For Schalke, coach Kramer has his entire squad at disposal apart from Polish centre-back Marcin Kaminski. Alexander Schwolow will be the undisputed starter in goal, with Henning Matriciani, Sepp van den Berg, Maya Yoshida, and Tobias Mohr marshaling the defense.
Rodrigo Zalazar and Florian Flick will be in the engine room behind the attacking trio of Jordan Larsson, Dominick Drexler, and Marius Bulter while Simon Terodde will have the responsibility of leading the line.
Head to Head Record
In the Bundesliga, Dortmund and Schalke have met 98 times, with the former having a slight upper hand with 36 wins. The Royal Blues emerged victorious on 32 occasions, and the remaining 30 games ended as draws.
Overall, across all competitions to date, these two sides have squared off an incredible 105 times, with BVB again having an advantage with 38 wins. The Veltins Arena outfit is close behind on 35 victories and the rest 32 games have ended as stalemates.
Predicted Starting XIs
Dortmund (4-3-3): Alexander Meyer, Thomas Meunier, Mats Hummels, Nico Schlotterbeck, Raphael Guerreiro, Jude Bellingham, Emre Can, Salih Ozcan, Karim Adeyemi, Anthony Modeste, Marco Reus
Schalke (4-2-3-1): Alexander Schwolow, Henning Matriciani, Sepp van den Berg, Maya Yoshida, Tobias Mohr, Rodrigo Zalazar, Florian Flick, Jordan Larsson, Dominick Drexler, Marius Bulter, Simon Terodde
Prediction
In the last Rivierderby, Dortmund emerged victorious 4-0 and a similar pattern could follow this weekend too. Even though they may have lost their previous two matches, the Black and Yellows have too much firepower in the tank to hurt Schalke in many ways. With the Yellow wall behind them, the hosts will be favourites to pick up an easy win.