Revierderby: Time for a Bundesliga Payback!

Revierderby: Time for a Bundesliga Payback!

Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund failed to beat Schalke in their two Revierderby fixtures last season. However, the current Bundesliga leaders are ready to change that when they meet again at Veltins-Arena.

Schalke, who finished second last season and eight points ahead of fourth-placed BVB, are struggling and have failed to meet the high expectations that come with being a top-four team. They have only four wins so far and could find themselves in the battle for relegation if they don’t improve.

Meanwhile, Dortmund took the league by storm with their unbeaten start to the campaign. There were initially outsiders to win the title this year, but Lucien Favre has done a great job catapulting the team from pretenders to legitimate contenders.

Sure enough, the Royal Blues—when everything clicks—are capable of holding their ground against the Yellow Wall, but are Dortmund really going to mess up against an out-of-sorts squad?

Talking Points

Seriously, who could ever forget about the epic 4-4 draw between these two clubs last season?

Back then, Dortmund appeared to be on their way to an easy victory after scoring four massive goals in the opening 25 minutes. In typical Revierderby fashion—one founded on hard work and dedication—Schalke pulled off what seemed to be impossible and clawed their way back with four strikes in the final 35 minutes of play.

In hindsight, that was a telling sign of how the campaign would go down for both teams.

RELATED: [FLASHBACK] Highlights of Schalke’s 4-4 Draw vs Dortmund

Sure enough, a repeat of that memorable stalemate is unlikely…but it makes for an interesting storyline that will undoubtedly be mentioned in most Bundesliga 2018 news.

Schalke went on to win the reverse fixture at home, 2-0, thanks to goals from Naldo and Yevhen Konoplyanka. Unfortunately, they won’t have their hopes up on replicating that success, especially with their offence severely lacking variety and playmakers.

Domenico Tedesco’s men have only scored 14 times through 13 matches this 2018-19, which puts them on pace to make just 32 this year—far from their 53-goal tally last year. Moreover, they have already conceded 18, making their regression even more noticeable.

It doesn’t help that Swiss forward Breel Embolo (metatarsal fracture) and former Hoffenheim frontman Mark Uth (thigh muscle strain) are both expected to be sidelined due to injuries.

In contrast, Dortmund are on the rise and seem unstoppable right now, especially with the worries of qualifying for the next round of the Champions League out of their minds.

Favre’s charges are fresh from taking down Freiburg 2-0 to stay undefeated and get their fourth straight league victory. Both Paco Alcacer and Marco Reus were on target to propel BVB to what is unarguably their best start in recent memory.

Dortmund, especially the players who were with them last year, are certainly raring to take their revenge on Schalke. And they have a great chance to do so now that they have the momentum on their side.

Super-sub Alcacer continues to impress and has now hit 10 markers, the best tally in the Bundesliga. Furthermore, Reus isn’t far behind with nine (on top of four assists), good enough for joint second top-scorer with Frankfurt’s Sebastien Haller.

Christian Pulisic’s calf injury is concerning, but Dortmund have enough depth with the likes of Axel Witsel, Jadon Sancho, Mario Gotze and Jacob Bruun Larsen capable of picking up the slack.

History

As mentioned, Dortmund failed to beat Schalke last year. To be more precise though, BVB’s winless run versus the Royal Blues stretches back to 2016.

The last time Dortmund won against Schalke was in 2015, with Shinji Kagawa, Mathias Ginter and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all finding the back of the net in a 3-2 victory at Signal Iduna Park. The Yellow Wall drew four and lost one of their five encounters after that.

Interestingly, in three of those five meetings since 2016, BVB find themselves ahead before collapsing (that includes the 4-4 draw). In April 2016, the then Thomas Tuchel-coached squad led twice but eventually had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

Almost the same thing happened in April 2017, with the team sharing the spoils after Thilo Kehrer cancelled out Auba’s 53rd-minute opener.

Betting Tip

Dortmund 1X2 @ 2.20

Dortmund have the advantage, but the Bundesliga 2018 betting odds at SBOBET suggest that a draw is also a possible result.

Considering the two club’s recent performances, it’s easy to see why another stalemate might be in the books. Nonetheless, I doubt that will be the case. Schalke lack the tools to keep up with Dortmund offensively, and they aren’t deep enough to get quality performances from their subs.

While Dortmund could have a hard time scoring, I still think they’ll come out on top.

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

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