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Dortmund vs Schalke Prediction & Betting tips
8: 0! With this result, FC Schalke 04 Borussia Dortmund outclassed in the last district derby to date. Perhaps it should be mentioned that this Ruhrpott classic only took place on the console as part of the Bundesliga Home Challenge. S04 professional Boujellab dispatched his compatriot Achraf Hakimi from BVB according to all the rules of the art.
On Saturday, on the other hand, the real ball will roll again. Dortmund will receive Schalke at the Bundesliga restart. According to the odds of the best bookmakers, the black and yellow are the clear favorites in the encounter, even though the duel of the two arch rivals will take place for the first time in history without a spectator.
However, this does not change the fact that the Dortmund against Schalke prognosis of many experts turns towards the home team. No wonder, because after all, Borussia is still fighting for the championship on the nine remaining game days, while the Royal Blues should be primarily grateful that the season will continue at all. In the event of a termination, the Gelsenkirchen team would have been hit harder financially than hardly any other first division team.
After a roughly two-month forced break and anything but normal preparation, the form of both clubs and the influence of a ghost game can hardly be assessed, it is difficult to venture a bet between Dortmund and Schalke on the outcome of the game. It is more interesting to bet that there will be fewer goals. The first leg already ended with a 0-0 draw and this time the guests will do everything they can to keep the zero as long as possible.
Dortmund:
Special circumstances require special measures. The preparation of Borussia Dortmund for the restart in the Bundesliga, more precisely for the eagerly awaited district derby, was exactly under this motto. In order to adjust to the unusual circumstances on Saturday afternoon in the empty Signal Iduna Park, the BVB managers simulated the untypical schedule of the day, including travel and walk-on, during the week.
Strictly speaking, the Westphalia are already “old hands” when it comes to ghost games, because in contrast to the royal blue, the black and yellow were challenged before the forced break before unoccupied positions. In the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 at Paris St. Germain, however, the Bundesliga side suffered an avoidable 0-2 defeat, which led to the elimination.
The memories of everyday life in the top German league are clearly more positive. Lucien Favre’s men won seven of the eight games in the second half of the season. Before the interruption, there were even four wins in a row, in which the defense was particularly convincing with just one goal in 360 minutes.
The new winter additions Can and Haaland also provided additional self-confidence on the one hand, but on the other hand also a completely new dimension in the game style that was previously practically exclusively geared towards unconditional offensive.
The crucial question now will be how the actors coped with the long break and how quickly the cold start can be made from zero to one hundred. Jadon Sancho and Co. definitely don’t have a lot of time to run hot, because with currently four points behind leaders Bayern Munich the championship has by no means ticked off.
It is all the more important to start with a sense of achievement. At least the Dortmund against Schalke odds are encouraging, although the betting providers may underestimate the misery of the black and yellow. With Axel Witsel, Emre Can, Marco Reus, Nico Schulz and Dan-Axel Zagadou, five professionals are out. Jadon Sancho also had to cut back during the week.
Schalke:
FC Schalke 04 is undoubtedly one of the clubs that suffered the most financially from the forced break. Due to the long uncertain future of this Bundesliga season and the questionable payout of the TV money around the Veltins Arena feared for their own existence. Although the DFL is now making a comeback at the weekend, the economic problems of the Royal Blues have by no means been eliminated.
From the point of view of those responsible for Jochen Schneider or Clemens Tönnies, it would be extremely important to occupy one of the first six places after 34 match days in order to be represented internationally in the coming season. The way there could prove to be very rocky, however, especially if the Wagner team maintains the downward trend from previous matches in the second half of the season.
For example, if the Gelsenkirchen team were just one point behind the Pott rival from Dortmund during the winter break, the two clubs already separated 14 points before the upcoming derby. S04 has not won in seven Bundesliga games. During this period, the miners only scored four points and struggled especially with scoring goals.
In the seven encounters mentioned, Guido Burgstaller and Co. only achieve a meager two fools. In five cases, the ambitious Ruhrpottler remained without their own hit. For comparison: only the teams in the last three places scored fewer goals than the team of David Wagner, who was not allowed to cheer in four away games this year.
Against this background, between Dortmund and Schalke we think that a maximum of two goals will be lucrative in the certainly hotly contested 90 minutes. Alternatively, a bet on a further zero number for the miners could be worthwhile, although they have mostly looked good in the recent past in Signal Iduna Park and last left the field in 2015 as losers.
While the personnel situation at BVB is tense, things are looking better for the current sixth, who is only two points ahead of position nine. With Kabak, Mascarell and Stambouli, three defensive forces are not available due to injuries, but coach Wagner, who has a Dortmund past, can rely on Caligiuri, Serdar or Sané, among others, who used the break to get fit.
Dortmund vs Schalke head to head matches
26.10.19 BUN Schalke Dortmund 0 : 0
27.04.19 BUN Dortmund Schalke 2 : 4
08.12.18 BUN Schalke Dortmund 1 : 2
15.04.18 BUN Schalke Dortmund 2 : 0
25.11.17 BUN Dortmund Schalke 4 : 4