Dortmund takes on Schalke in the first Ruhr derby this season. The teams sit right next to each other in the table.
Dortmund’s last result in the league was a 1-1 draw with Hannover. Missed chances came back to haunt them late in that match as Mame Biram Diouf equalized in the 86th minute. The good news for Dortmund is that Marco Reus is playing extremely well. He scored twice for his country against Ireland and set up two goals against Sweden.
Schalke meanwhile battered Wolfsburg in their previous league match. Wolfsburg never even stood a chance. Three goals went past them, one of them from Jefferson Farfan. Farfan has a history of problems against Magath. His weight gain following his holiday had made him a laughing stock at his club when Magath had been coach. He made sure that Magath knew the damage he had done to the Peruvian with a good display.
Dortmund’s injury list currently is lengthier than most clubs. Mats Hummels missed his side’s internationals as did Ilkay Gündogan and Sven Bender. Sebastien Kehl was also injured two weeks ago against Hannover. All of them are expected to return to action soon. However, Jakub Blaszczykowski is out with a long term injury and won’t turn up any time soon. For Schalke, their young genius, Julian Draxler is out.
Both teams have vital Champions League clashes to look forward to on Wednesday. Dortmund plays the first of a double-header against Real Madrid while Schalke takes on Arsenal. Schalke’s draw against Montpellier might come back to haunt them. When a team is leading 2-1 and playing the better football with an extra man, they are expected to win. Unfortunately, Schalke conceded a last minute equalizer.
Dortmund had a similar problem. They missed tonnes of chances against Manchester City. Those chances came back to haunt them as the referee awarded a controversial penalty in the 89th minute to City. Mario Balotelli stepped up to the spot and converted. Thus, Dortmund now is in the uncomfortable situation of playing Madrid with only four points to their name rather than six.
The last few Ruhr derbies haven’t lived up to their billing. The two last season were rather one sided affairs in which Dortmund triumphed easily. They did so in the second one despite having gone a goal down. In the previous season, they won the first one as well. The second one was a draw because then Schalke captain and keeper Manuel Neuer played an exceptional match and kept BVB out with some help from the post.
The one Ruhr derby which was a somewhat even affair was last season’s Supercup. That ended in a 0-0 draw as Ralf Fahrmann put in a good shift. The match went to penalties and Fahrmann made some great saves to deny Dortmund. Schalke won their only trophy of the previous season then. Both teams have lost one match to date in the new season. Schalke lost to Bayern while Dortmund lost to Hamburg.
This derby will showcase the talents of an ever improving Lewis Holtby, Tranquillo Barnetta, Farfan, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Reus, Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski and two keepers, Roman Weidenfeller and Lars Unnerstall along with many more stars. Hopefully, finally the derby will live up to its billing.
It is time that Schalke finally earned a win against the big two. Considering that they are on good form, they should be able to snatch at-least a point against a Dortmund side missing many of their stars.
Prediction: BVB 1-1 Schalke
Schalke meanwhile battered Wolfsburg in their previous league match. Wolfsburg never even stood a chance. Three goals went past them, one of them from Jefferson Farfan. Farfan has a history of problems against Magath. His weight gain following his holiday had made him a laughing stock at his club when Magath had been coach. He made sure that Magath knew the damage he had done to the Peruvian with a good display.
Dortmund’s injury list currently is lengthier than most clubs. Mats Hummels missed his side’s internationals as did Ilkay Gündogan and Sven Bender. Sebastien Kehl was also injured two weeks ago against Hannover. All of them are expected to return to action soon. However, Jakub Blaszczykowski is out with a long term injury and won’t turn up any time soon. For Schalke, their young genius, Julian Draxler is out.
Both teams have vital Champions League clashes to look forward to on Wednesday. Dortmund plays the first of a double-header against Real Madrid while Schalke takes on Arsenal. Schalke’s draw against Montpellier might come back to haunt them. When a team is leading 2-1 and playing the better football with an extra man, they are expected to win. Unfortunately, Schalke conceded a last minute equalizer.
Dortmund had a similar problem. They missed tonnes of chances against Manchester City. Those chances came back to haunt them as the referee awarded a controversial penalty in the 89th minute to City. Mario Balotelli stepped up to the spot and converted. Thus, Dortmund now is in the uncomfortable situation of playing Madrid with only four points to their name rather than six.
The last few Ruhr derbies haven’t lived up to their billing. The two last season were rather one sided affairs in which Dortmund triumphed easily. They did so in the second one despite having gone a goal down. In the previous season, they won the first one as well. The second one was a draw because then Schalke captain and keeper Manuel Neuer played an exceptional match and kept BVB out with some help from the post.
The one Ruhr derby which was a somewhat even affair was last season’s Supercup. That ended in a 0-0 draw as Ralf Fahrmann put in a good shift. The match went to penalties and Fahrmann made some great saves to deny Dortmund. Schalke won their only trophy of the previous season then. Both teams have lost one match to date in the new season. Schalke lost to Bayern while Dortmund lost to Hamburg.
This derby will showcase the talents of an ever improving Lewis Holtby, Tranquillo Barnetta, Farfan, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Reus, Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski and two keepers, Roman Weidenfeller and Lars Unnerstall along with many more stars. Hopefully, finally the derby will live up to its billing.
It is time that Schalke finally earned a win against the big two. Considering that they are on good form, they should be able to snatch at-least a point against a Dortmund side missing many of their stars.
Prediction: BVB 1-1 Schalke
