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Dortmund vs. Schalke (kick-off 15:30 CEST)
Hello and welcome to DW’s coverage of the Bundesliga’s restart. The 180th edition of the Revierderby will be like no other before it as Borussia Dortmund play host to Schalke in Germany’s biggest football stadium… without the fans.
We’ll be back on Saturday 14:00 CEST (13:00 GMT, 08:00 ET) to bring you all the live build-up before kick off, but in the meantime feel free to use our pre-match fact check to blow your friends away ahead of one of the great football derbies.
History: The Mother of all Derbies!
Saturday’s clash will be the 180th Revierderby. A 2-1 win in December 2018 is the only time Borussia Dortmund have won in the last eight meetings. The last derby in Dortmund saw S04 win 4-2 – BVB’s only BL home loss since Lucien Favre took charge.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
Legendary Naldo!
In April, Schalke scored their first derby win since 2014. Naldo proved the hero once more, scoring an incredible free kick to end the contest and write his name into the Royal Blues’ history book. In doing so, the 35-year-old Brazilian went one better than his late, great equalizer that marked an incredible comeback from a four-goal deficit in the first fixture of the 2017-18 season.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
Four-goal comeback
The first Revierderby of 2017-18 was without a doubt one of the most exciting. Dortmund dominated from the kickoff, going up by four goals in the first half hour. Schalke staged a comeback in the second half. Central defender Naldo (bottom left) scored with a header four minutes into time added on to give Schalke a 4-4 draw in Dortmund.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
BVB win in the fog
The fog was so thick in Dortmund in November 1966, that some referees might have declined to go ahead with the match. Not Gerd Henning: “Every time somebody kicked the ball into the fog, I chased after it,” he said afterwards. “It was strenuous, but it was okay. BVB dealt better with the conditions, winning 6-2. Lothar Emmerich’s hat trick is the only one ever scored in a Ruhr derby.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
Fido bites Friedel
One of the strangest things to happen during a Revierderby came in Dortmund in September 1969. After a Schalke goal, some of the spectators invaded the pitch, so the stewards used dogs to drive them back. One of the dogs bit Schalke defender Friedel Rausch in the backside. Despite his pain, Rausch was able to play on.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
A goal against his future club
In December 1997, Schalke goalkeeper Jens Lehmann (fourth from left) scored a last-minute goal to earn team a 2-2 draw in Dortmund. Among the players who have been on both sides of the Ruhr derby, Lehmann is the record holder, having made 11 appearances for for Schalke and nine for Dortmund.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
Penalty spoiler
Frank Rost was the man of the match in Dortmund in January 2004. The Schalke goalkeeper saved two penalties, first from Jan Koller, then from Torsten Frings. Rost would go on to keep a clean sheet and Ebbe Sand’s goal shortly before the final whistle gave Schalke a 1-0 win.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
Longest undefeated streak
The derby in Dortmund was also decided by a single Schalke goal. This time it was the Brazilian Ailton (right) who got the winner. This extended Schalke’s undefeated streak in the derby to 12 matches — the longest in the long history of encounters between Schalke and BVB.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
Royal Blue hopes dashed
One of the most bitter derby encounters for Schalke. In Dortmund in May of 2007, Schalke’s hopes of winning the Bundesliga title ebbed away. In the penultimate match of the season Alexander Frei and Ebi Smolarek (second from right) both scored in a Dortmund win. Schalke players Christian Pander (left) and Fabian Ernst are not impressed.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
Back from the dead
After an hour of play in Dortmund in September 2008, Schalke were up 3-0 and looked to have all but won the match. After BVB pulled one back, though, Schalke had two players sent off in the space of five minutes. Dortmund got two more to earn a 3-3 draw. The last one was this Alexander Frei penalty in the 89th minute.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
Fan trouble
So intense is the rivalry that there can be trouble between groups of supporters. Brawls broke out in October 2012 in Dortmund, as well as a year later in Gelsenkirchen. Both clubs went as far as to threaten to play future derbies behind closed doors — but clearly it hasn’t come to that.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
Batman and Robin
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (left) scored the goal that put Dortmund up 1-0 at Signal Iduna Park in February of 2015. He and teammate Marco Reus celebrated by donning previously hidden Batman and Robin masks. “We like to have a bit of fun,” Reus explained afterwards. Dortmund went on to win 3-0.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke: The mother of all German derbies
A red card for the ref
In the most recent derby, in Gelsenkirchen in April 2017, Schalke’s mascot, Erwin, showed referee Felix Zwayer the red card. Zwayer had denied the Royal Blues a penalty in time added on. Schalke’s coach, Markus Weinzierl (third from right) protested a little too vigorously and was sent to the stands. The match ended 1-1 and a warning issued by the DFB (German FA) to Erwin.
Author: Stefan Nestler, Chuck Penfold
Pre-match spotlight: Jadon Sancho
Erling Haaland has stolen some of the spotlight since joining in January, but Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho has been stealing the show this season. The 20-year-old has hand in at least one goal in his last eight games and leads the Bundesliga in goal involvements (29; 14 goals, 15 assists).
Pre-match spotlight: Suat Serdar
Schalke strikers not being the most dependable source of goals is nothing new and it also takes nothing away from Serdar being the club’s top scorer this season. The Germany international’s form has flourished under David Wagner and produced seven goals making his threat one BVB need to heed.
Fun fact!
Well not if you’re a Schalke fan. The Royal Blues have scored a league-low four goals in the Rückrunde – their lowest-ever tally after Matchday 25 (same as 1965-66 and 2010-11). It may have something to do with the fact only Hertha (267) and Augsburg (280) having attempted fewer shots.
There will be no fans present for the rest of the Bundesliga season
From the coach’s mouth: Lucien Favre
“We’ve trained well. Now we’re in the hotel, everyone’s is doing their job well and we’re not encountering any problems. I’m pleased we can make five substitutions during the game. It’s a good idea and it will be necessary.”
From the coach’s mouth: David Wagner
“The lads have behaved in an exemplary manner. It’s an extremely tough situation for us all – both privately and professionally. It’s been tough, but the lads have made the best of this situation. One huge advantage is that we aren’t just playing any old match, but rather the derby!”
From the sporting director’s mouth: Michael Zorc (Dortmund)
“This isn’t the time to be talking about the title. These are new and extreme circumstances for everyone. Our first priority is winning the game on Saturday. A derby without fans: you’re heart breaks. We therefore need a higher standard of self-motivation.”
Marco Reus is one of many high-profile names out of the derby due to injury
Probable line-up: Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre confirmed that both Axel Witsel and Emre Can would join Marco Reus, Nico Schulz and Dan-Axel Zagadou on the absentee list.
Dortmund XI: Bürki – Piszczek, Hummels, Akanji – Hakimi, Brandt, Delaney, Guerreiro – Sancho, Haaland, Hazard
Probable line-up: Schalke
A trio of defensive stalwarts will miss the Revierderby for Schalke with Ozan Kabak, Benjamin Stambouli and Omar Mascarell all unavailable for when head coach David Wagner chooses his 11.
Schalke XI: Schubert – Kenny, Todibo, Nastasic, Oczipka – Caligiuri, McKennie, Serdar – Harit – Burgstaller, Raman
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/bundesliga-live-blog-dortmund-vs-schalke/a-52737149?maca=en-rss-en-sports-1027-xml-atom