Bundesliga: Dortmund vs Schalke in the Revierderby

Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Schalke, Signal Iduna Park

HALFTIME

Schalke finish the half with eight men on the edge of their box, but this is a tale of a great siege. Dortmund are probing and pushing for an opener their dominance has deserved, but Schalke have stood stubbornly in their way. The question is, can the really do that for another 45 minutes? We’ll be back in 15 to find out.

45′ Sancho threads it to Haaland, but it escapes the striker’s control. A moment later he sets up Reyna but his shot is blocked. Dortmund are camped out on the edge of Schalke’s box here.

42′ Somehow Paciencia escapes a yellow for a late scrap of Sancho’s foot. The Briton is in pain but gets to his feet. Schalke certainly bringing the fight in the derby, but they haven’t brought much in terms of play.

40′ A much tighter game than perhaps expected, largely because Schalke have sat so deep for most of the half and just about dealt with everything Dortmund have tried to throw at them. Schalke can’t play it out, Dortmund can’t find a way through.

37′ CHANCE! The game is opening up a bit. A beautiful move by Dortmund ends with an outside-of-the-boot cross from Meunier that Reyna, yes, Reyna, heads wide at the back post under pressure. What a goal that would have been. Schalke have eight minutes left to survive in this half.

35′ CHANCE! Akanji with an error, Matondo bounces, drives forward and sets Oczipka up for an effort that is blocked and leads to a Schalke corner. A rare foray forward for the visitors, and exactly the breather they need. The corner comes to nothing and Dortmund start again.

30′ CHANCES! Dortmund still trying to turn the screw here but can’t find the final pass. Haaland blazes a cross across the face of goal – no one is there to finish it off. Then Dahoud and Reyna do too much in the box. Haaland wins a corner by just being stronger than Nastasic, the clearance falls to Dahoud and his long-range effort clips the bar.

24′ Delaney thumps in for a tackle. He is also fortunate to avoid a yellow, but Felix Zwayer says that evens the score for Thiaw’s tackle just minutes ago. Baum urges for the free kick to be dropped in the box. It ends up for a throw in. A moment to describe their season, but then Paciencia makes a move and forces a corner. It’s troubling for Dortmund but Matondo is offside.

21′ No card for Thiaw, and that is fortunate given the late step on Reyna’s foot. Schalke are just trying to survive now, clearing the ball hopefully into space away from their goal. If they can weather this storm…

18′ If Schalke keep playing like this, it’s only a matter of time before Dortmund grab the opener – and maybe more. Guerreiro blazes over. The hosts are inching closer.

15′ CHANCE! Dortmund are starting to control the game. Brandt dallies in the box and wastes a neat pass by Sancho, but then he starts a move that ends with Meunier forcing a good save from Ronnow. Schalke need a break but they can’t catch one at the moment.

13′ YELLOW! Mascarell is late on Dahoud and gets booked, rightly so.

12′ CHANCE! Schalke look rattled all of a sudden, Brandt seizes on some poor play by Schalke on the edge of their own box but when the ball falls to Haaland he doesn’t quite hit it right and the chance goes.

11′ Dahoud has a shot blocked, but Dortmund stay on the edge of Schalke’s box until Sancho fires over. Dortmund starting to move the ball around a bit. Naldo wants Schalke tighter, and he’s not wrong.

8′ PENALTY SHOUT! Hummels floats a ball into Reyna who chests it down in the box and goes shoulder to shoulder with Thiaw. Reyna goes down, calls for a penalty and in real time it looks tight. In the replay though, it looks like both were grappling. Fair call. On we go. Dortmund have upped the tempo a bit.

3′ Couple of strong challenges early from both sides. Schalke look up for the fight. Dortmund having to drop deep to start buildup play.

1′ Off we go. The biggest derby in the Bundesliga is underway, with Dortmund getting us started.

Kickoff imminent

The teams are in the tunnel. Oh, this is what 300 fans looks like in a stadium usually famous for its atmosphere. Not quite the same, is it?

Words from Michael Zorc

“The team was very self critical after the game in Rome. I hope we deliver a better performance here today,” Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said before the game. “We want to stay near the top of the table. This is a derby and so points in this game are big.”

Teams are in!

Dortmund recall Roman Bürki, as expected. Both Mo Dahoud and Manuel Akanji start, with Axel Witsel dropped. Lucien Favre makes five changes

Dortmund XI: Bürki – Meunier, Hummels, Akanji, Guerreiro – Delaney, Dahoud – Sancho, Brandt, Reyna – Haaland

Schalke, on the other hand, continue with Frederik Ronnow in goal as Ralf Fährmann is still injured. The big news is a start for 19-year-old defender Malik Thiaw, his first in the Bundesliga.

Schalke XI: Ronnow – Ludewig, Nastasic, Thiaw, Sane, Oczipka – Bentaleb, Mascarell – Harit, Matondo – Paciencia

Keeper change

Early reports from “Sport1” suggest that Lucien Favre has recalled Roman Bürki between the posts today after Marwin Hitz’s recent run in goal. Bürki originally had a muscle injury but had recovered and had expected to return sooner, but he will be Dortmund’s goalkeeper for the biggest game of the season.

Lack of clarity over fans

After Dortmund tweeted that 300 fans will be attending the derby game, the club’s website now states they are “hopeful” to have that number attending. Rising coronavirus infection rates across Germany have seen an increase in preventative measures.

Emre Can tests positive

Late on Friday afternoon, Borussia Dortmund revealed that midfielder Emre Can has tested positive for the coronavirus. The game against Schalke is still expected to take place, though.

Minimum numbers

With COVID-19 cases across Germany sky-rocketing, the restrictions on fans inside stadiums means only 300 Dortmund fans will be able to view the action.

But the fact that 35,000 members applied for those tickets shows just how much this match means to the region even in the middle of a pandemic.

Form

Schalke remain in crisis mode. A 1-1 draw against Union Berlin showed little signs that they’re any closer to breaking what is now a 20-game winless streak. New coach Manuel Baum has a monumental job on his hands.

After a hard-fought victory against Hoffenheim, Dortmund collapsed 3-1 against Lazio in the Champions League.

While form and circumstance are usually of no importance where the Revierderby is concerned, both teams face crucial junctures in their season. Victory, or failure, in a derby can have significant knock-on effects.

What they said

Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc was less than impressed following the Lazio loss.

“We followed the rules of social distancing in an exemplary manner,” he quipped.

The 58-year-old wants to see a completely different Dortmund turn up against Schalke.

“We want to see a reaction,” he said. “Schalke will have a lot of passion, discipline and commitment – they will want to ruin our game.”

Whether Schalke can pull it off is the big question. Their ultras confronted the team after last weekend’s draw against Union Berlin, delivering a clear message.

“You can lose [the derby], but it depends on the manner. If it’s not at least as good as today, we’ll see each other again and it won’t be as peaceful.”

History

This will be the 97th Revierderby, with Dortmund shaving the wins 34 to 32. The last meeting was in May, the first game of the restart, where Dortmund hammered Schalke 4-0.

Thankfully for Schalke, their form usually matters little when it comes to the derby. They’ve been known to produce some big performances against their rivals, especially in recent years.

A 4-2 victory at the end of the 2018-19 season effectively scuppered Dortmund’s titles chances, while in November 2017 they famously came back from 4-0 down to draw 4-4 at home.

This fixture has to be one of the most unpredictable in the Bundesliga.

Spotlight: Lucien Favre

Two failed title challenges and a stop-start begin to his third season at Dortmund, means Lucien Favre’s credentials are once again, unfortunately inevitably, under question.

This will be his 300th match in the Bundesliga and he’s chasing his 150th win. Following Dortmund’s limp performance midweek in the Champions League, as well as a disappointing 2-0 loss to Augsburg on Matchday 2, Favre needs a boost.

A loss in the derby would make his standing among skeptical fans even shakier.

Fun facts

Mats Hummels hasn’t lost against Schalke in 11 matches, although more than half of those were in the colors of Bayern Munich. He’ll likely wear the captain’s armband in the case that Marco Reus doesn’t make the starting lineup.

Benjamin Stambouli has never been on the losing side of a Revierderby. In six matches he’s won two and drawn four. He was on the bench against Union. Perhaps Baum should reinstall Schalke’s lucky charm back into the first eleven.

Possible lineups

Dortmund XI: Bürki – Piszczek, Hummels, Akanji – Meunier, Bellingham, Witsel, Guerreiro – Sancho, Reyna – Haaland

Schalke XI: Rönnow – Ludewig, Sane, Nastasic, Oczipka – Mascarell, Bentaleb – Skrzybski, Uth, Raman – Paciencia

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/bundesliga-dortmund-vs-schalke-in-the-revierderby-live/a-55377648?maca=en-rss-en-sports-1027-xml-atom