Schalke will be looking for payback when they face Borussia Dortmund at the Veltins Arena on Sunday afternoon in the 148th Ruhr derby between the two great rivals.
BVB took the points when the two clubs met earlier in the season at the Signal Iduna Park, meaning André Brietenreiter's men will be looking to please the sellout home crowd and restore parity on the season.
They will have to end Dortmund's ten-game unbeaten streak if they are to do so however, which is no easy feat considering the strength that Thomas Tuchel has instilled in the team.
Form
In addition to bragging rights, a win would do The Miners a lot of good in their quest for a Champions League spot.
Their inconsistency has plagued them to this point, something which is reflected in their last five Bundesliga game, in which they have three wins and two losses. Last time out, they were comprehensively swept aside by Ingolstadt at the Audi-Sportpark, losing by a scoreline of 3-0 to compound the struggles S04 have had in maintaining a spot in the European places.
This has left Schalke in a lowly seventh place, with 44 points from 28 games including 13 wins, a whole five points behind Hertha BSC as we enter the home stretch of the season. If results go their way however, they could find themselves in sole possession of fourth spot and two points off Hertha who played on Friday night and were held by Hertha.
The visitors have different ambitions, and have been revolutionary under Thomas Tuchel. BVB haven't given up title ambitions yet, sitting five points behind Bayern Munich in second place with an impressive 67 points from 28 games, a whole 23 more than their rivals and opponents on Sunday.
In addition to this, the yellow-and-black have been in free flow offensively, scoring the same number of goals as they have points, the most in the entire league. Worryingly for the hosts, Dortmund have scored at least twice in their last four competitive away fixtures, and have picked up 13 points out of the last 15 available in the league - the only draw coming versus Bayern.
Of course the team was in European action in midweek, being held to a 1-1 draw in Dortmund by Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool side, so they will be looking to cap the week in positive fashion and confirm their credentials as legitimate contenders this season.
History
The Revierderby is one of the most decorated and passionate fixtures in football, and means so much to the fans of both teams as well as the players involved.
As previously mentioned, the last time the sides met was earlier in the season, and most of the 80,000 people went home happy as BVB defeated Schalke in a thriller. Shinji Kagawa game the home side a lead on the half hour, though Klaas-Jan Huntelaar responded just three minutes later, with Mattias Ginter restoring the lead for Dortmund before the break. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang provided daylight between the sides just after the break, though Huntelaar's second of the day made the last 20 minutes nervous, but Tuchel's troops held out for a famous win.
Overall however, Schalke have the edge in this fixture with 58 wins to the 51 of their rivals. In the Bundesliga era, the black-and-yellow tops the royal blue by a tally of 32 wins to 30, while in all fixtures between the teams Schalke have 53 more goals scores with 280 to 227.
Last season, the home side won at the Veltins Arena by a score of 2-1, when Joel Matip and Eric-Maxim Chuopo-Moting provided the early firepower to render an Aubameyang goal mere consolation, and give the Gelsenkirchen club the advantage until Dortmund's 3-0 win back the the Westfalenstadion later in the season.
Team news
For the visitors, Neven Subotic will miss out with thrombosis, although Ilkay Gündogan could be in line for a return following picking up a foot injury in the 0-0 draw against Bayern last month.
Schalke meanwhile have a somewhat busier treatment room, with Matija Nastasic (achilles), Marco Höger (cruciate ligament) and Atsuto Uchida (knee) all unavailable for selection.
Benedikt Höwedes is close to a return from a tendon issue in his thigh suffered in January, but may not quite be ready to be thrust into action.