This is, without question, the match of the weekend. The 137th edition of the Revierderby between Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund will be one of the few remaining tests the home side face as they move ever closer to a first Bundesliga championship since 2002. A loss would hardly dent their title credentials, but a season double over hated rivals Schalke would surely make the foregone conclusion of their seventh league crown a bit sweeter. BVB ripped apart Schalke in the first meeting between these two earlier in the season; Shinji Kagawa ran riot as Dortmund tormented their hosts in a 3-1 win that absolutely flattered Schalke.
Borussia Dortmund Vs. Schalke 04: Pre-Match Primer
There’s no Kagawa this time, and Dortmund are also without Neven Subotic in their backline due to an injury. Mario Götze will continue to deputize for the Japanese attacking midfielder, while Felipe Santana comes in for Subotic. Ghanaian international midfielder Anthony Annan will make his first start for Schalke after leaving Rosenborg late in the transfer window. In total Magath has made four changes to the side that lost against Hoffenheim last week -- in addition to Annan’s debut, José Jurado, Junmin Hao, and Lukas Schmitz are all back in the lineup. Dortmund are favourites, and justifiably so, but Schalke are playing far better than they were at the beginning of the season and should raise their level for this heated derby atmosphere.
Borussia Dortmund (Probable 4-2-3-1): Weidenfeller; Hummels, Santana, Schmelzer, Piszczek; Sahin, Bender; Großkreutz, Götze, Blaszczykowski; Barrios
Subs: Langerak, Dede, Sobiech, Feulner, da Silva, Zidan, Lewandowski
Schalke 04 (Probable 4-4-2): Neuer; Metzelder, Höwedes, Schmitz, Uchida; Kluge, Annan, Jurado, Farfán; Raúl, Huntelaar
Subs: Schober, Papadopoulos, Karimi, Hao, Draxler, Edu, Gavranovic
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