Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke preview

October 28, 2016
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

BVB vs SchalkeFierce rivals Borussia Dortmund and Schalke head into the Revierderby in similar mood, both punching well below their weight at the moment.

But, while the Miners have been showings signs of improvement of late, the Millionaires are currently on a three-match winless run.

The Borussia Dortmund squad underwent major changes in the summer transfer window, but the team showed plenty of promise in the opening exchanges.

After five wins in first six games, it seemed that the Millionaires were on the right track, however the busy schedule and injuries to star players eventually took the wind out of their sails.

And while the team continued with impressive performances in Europe, they began to struggle on domestic stage, falling further behind title rivals Bayern Munich.

After taking just two points from last three league fixtures, the Millionaires sit five points behind the Bundesliga leaders, and they now need to win the Ruhr derby at all costs.

Borussia Dortmund have been made 1.60 (3/5) favourites to claim maximum points, but it is clear they will have to work hard for the win.

Andre Schurrle has resumed training with the squad, but is unlikely to be risked, whereas Raphael Guerreiro, Marco Reus and Marcel Schmelzer continue to miss out.

Probable starting line-up (4-1-4-1): Burki – Piszczek, Sokratis, Bartra, Passlack – Weigl – Pulisic, Castro, Gotze, Dembele – Aubameyang.

One of Germany’s most famous clubs had a disastrous start to the new league campaign, quite possibly one of the worst in history.

The Miners somehow managed to lose their first five Bundesliga fixtures, scoring mere two goals in the process, and they desperately needed a couple of good results to turn things around.

The quality of the team eventually shone as Schalke went on to hammer Borussia M’gladbach and Mainz at home, while also bringing one point from Augsburg.

This means that they head into the derby clash with Borussia Dortmund in very good spirits and hoping to extend the very good run.

In spite of the good run of form, Markus Weinzierl’s rotation policy looks set to continue, meaning that Klaas Jan Huntelaar should return to the side.

The likes of Coke, Sidney Sam and Atsuto Uchida are out injured, whereas the season is all but over for summer recruit Breel Embolo.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Fahrmann – Howedes, Naldo, Nastasic, Baba – Geis, Bentaleb – Konoplyanka, Goretzka, Choupo-Moting – Huntelaar.

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