On Saturday evening, Schalke and Dortmund clash at the Veltins Arena in a vital Revierderby at both ends of the Bundesliga table.
Schalke form guideThe Royal Blues head into this derby game on the back of a six-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga, having recorded back-to-back league wins over Stuttgart and Bochum.
A key to Schalke’s recent good form in the German top flight has been a defensive improvement, as the Gelsenkirchen outfit has kept five clean sheets in their last six matches in the Bundesliga. They are now only in the relegation zone due to an inferior goal difference to the teams above them.
Schalke are also unbeaten in their last three home games in the Bundesliga, although a 2-1 win over Stuttgart in their previous home ended a four-game winless run on home soil.
Their recent home matches have been low-scoring in the German top flight, with under 2.5 goals scored in five of their last seven league games at Veltins Arena.
Dortmund form guideBVB will be looking to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which saw Edin Terzic’s team exit the Champions League at the last-16 stage.
That defeat ended a stellar recent run of results, as Dortmund had won their previous ten competitive games in all competitions. However, Terzic’s team has still won their last eight Bundesliga matches.
The excellent recent league results have moved the visitors level on points with arch-rivals Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table. They now only trail the Bavarians courtesy of an inferior goal difference.
Dortmund has a strong recent away record in the Bundesliga, as they have recorded four straight away wins in the German top flight.
Latest team newsSchalke has a massive list of likely absentees through injury, including Dominick Drexler, Tim Skarke, Cedric Brunner, Sepp van den Berg, Soichiro Kozuki, Thomas Ouwejan, Jere Uronen, Justin Heekeren and Sebastian Polter.
Dortmund has injury problems of their own, as Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi, Mateu Morey Bauza, Julien Duranville and Youssoufa Moukoko could all miss out.
What am I backing?Things are looking a lot brighter for Schalke of late, and they should cause Dortmund real problems in this clash. However, I am back BVB to have too much quality for their rivals.