Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund: Bundesliga Preview, Gameweek 24, 2023

The late Saturday kick-off in the Bundesliga sees one of the biggest rivalries in European football take place.

Schalke 04 welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Veltins-Arena in the 100th Bundesliga meeting of the Revierderby.

Just 20 miles separate the Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr region, but the difference in results this season could not be more opposite. Dortmund sit second in the league behind Bayern Munich on goal difference, in contrast, Schalke are second bottom and only ahead of VFL Bochum because of goal difference.

Schalke head into the derby in good form, having won back-to-back games against Stuttgart and Bochum. A Manuel Riemann own-goal and Marius Bulter goal have moved his side level with those outside the relegation places.

Schalke 04 celebrate their 2-0 win over VFL Bochum last weekend PHOTO CREDIT: DeFodi Images

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Stuttgart are above Schalke on goal difference and a win in the derby could send Thomas Reis' side as high as 14th.

Dortmund are the most in-form side in Germany at the minute, winning eight league games in a row stands them in good stead to keep writing on the tails of Bayern. In gameweek 23 they beat RB Leipzig 2-1 thanks to a Marco Reus penalty and Emre Can scoring just before half-time, giving them enough of a cushion to hold on despite a Leipzig onslaught in the second half.

Emre Can celebrates scoring the second in Dortmund's 2-1 win over RB Leipzig PHOTO CREDIT: Mika Volkmann

Despite being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday by Chelsea, Edin Terzic and his players can now focus on claiming their first league title since the 2011-12 season.

These two sides met in gameweek seven with Dortmund winning 1-0 to claim all three points. A goal from Youssoufa Moukoko with 10 minutes to play gave the BVB faithful the bragging rights.

Team News

Schalke 04

Sepp Van den Berg will miss the derby having been carted off in training. The Dutch defender had just returned following an ankle injury but it is reported that he is now struggling with a foot problem in another huge setback for the Liverpool loanee.

Sepp Van den Berg will miss out after picking up an injury in training PHOTO CREDIT: Soccrates Images

Another loan player to miss out is Finnish full-back Jere Uronen, who will miss his third match in a row due to a groin problem. In more positive news for the hosts, Thomas Ouwejan has returned to training following a long-term groin injury so he may make the bench for Saturday's affair.

Borussia Dortmund

On Tuesday night, Julian Brandt managed just five minutes at Stamford Bridge before suffering an injury. The German midfielder has eight goals and four assists in the league this season and has been an essential piece in the success of this Dortmund side.

Julian Brandt was taken off in midweek after just five minutes and looks set to miss the derby PHOTO CREDIT: Alexandre Simoes

Giovanni Reyna came on and was impressive in the defeat and so will fancy his chances for starting in the derby. Terzic is likely to look to the American but also has Donyell Malen and young Englishman Jamie Bynoe-Gittens at his disposal to replace Brandt.

Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was on the bench in London but should be available to return to the starting lineup on Saturday.

Likely Lineups

Schalke 04

Fahrmann, Brunner, Yoshida, Jenz, Alvarez Balanta, Matriciani; Kral, Krauss, Zalazar; Frey, Bulter

Borussia Dortmund

Kobel; Wolf, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro; Can, Bellingham, Ozcan; Reyna, Haller, Reus

Key Players

Schalke 04 - Marius Bulter

Forward Marius Bulter has been a huge part of Schalke winning their last two games, with the 29-year-old scoring in both matches. A shining light for the hosts is that nine of his last 14 games have come at home.

Marius Butler has two goals in his last two games and will look to lead the Schalke line PHOTO CREDIT: Lars Baron

He finished second top scorer in their 2. Bundesliga title winning season with 10 goals, only behind Simon Terodde who finished the campaign with 30 goals to his name. Bulter is the current top scorer with five goals in his 23 league appearances and this little run of form could be the catalyst to Schalke reaching safety.

Borussia Dortmund - Marco Reus

The BVB club captain is another one that is in fine form with four goal contributions in his last three games. Reus registered a goal and an assist against Hertha BSC, before assisting the winner against Hoffenheim and then his penalty last week against Leipzig to cap off an excellent few weeks for the experienced German.

Marco Reus celebrates scoring his penalty against RB Leipzig PHOTO CREDIT: Mika Volkmann

One record he would love to break this weekend is becoming Dortmund's all-time leading goal scorer in the professional era. 159 goals to his name puts him level with Michael Zorc and made even more impressive by Reus playing almost 200 less games for the club.