Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke 04
Rivalries like these are what makes the Bundesliga fun to watch. And this weekend, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke will face off anew at the Signal Iduna Park.
Whenever these two proud sides lock horns, statistics and recent form are thrown out of the window, although the recent Bundesliga 2020 results tell a story as to how they are doing so far this campaign.
Borussia Dortmund continue to live up to their championship contending status as they are third in the league table as of the moment.
With nine points under their belt, BVB are level with defending champions Bayern Munich – who are a notch above them.
On the other hand, Schalke have had a miserable start for the 2020/21 season. Die Knappen are still searching for their first victory this term and they are in the bottom two with only one point.
The odds are stacked against the visitors as the SBOTOP betting tips view this as a loss already for Manuel Baum’s men. But can they prove their doubters wrong and draw out a positive result against the Yellow Wall?
Talking Points
Borussia Dortmund bringing back key reinforcements
Lucien Favre’s side will look to build on to their domestic campaign after winning three of their first four games this season.
Borussia Dortmund won against Gladbach, SC Freiburg, and Hoffenheim, and their sole loss came at the hands against Augsburg.
They recently lost against Lazio in their first Champions league match as they were haunted by an old friend in Ciro Immobile, so getting back on track will be their main objective for this weekend.
The good news for BVB is that they will come into this match with a more complete lineup.
Manuel Akanji, who was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while on international duty earlier this month, is back training with the club since he tested negative few days ago. The Swiss native is sure to add muscle to their backline.
Meanwhile, left-wingers Thorgan Hazard and Nico Schulz also returned to training last Wednesday after nursing minor injuries. Both are expected to be in the starting lineup this weekend.
Fixtures will come in thick and fast for Borussia Dortmund, so Lucien Favre is hopeful that he can have all of his players available to maximise his squad’s depth.
Can Schalke end their losing streak?
2020 has been a bad year for Schalke as they have only won once in the Bundesliga, and their fortunes have hardly changed even with the arrival of team boss Manuel Baum.
With Baum in search for his first managerial victory, he would need to find the right combination in his starting XI to give himself a chance against BVB.
Eintracht Frankfurt loanee Goncalo Paciencia is definitely a candidate to be their starting centre-forward this week. Against Union Berlin last Sunday, the Portuguese came off the bench to help his team draw level and avoid another loss.
Meanwhile, Mark Uth may get the nod to play alongside Paciencia as he has now recovered from his injury while Killian Ludewig is expected to be their starting right-back after an impressive debut in the last time out.
History
In the rich history of the Revierderby, Schalke own the upper hand in the head-to-heads.
In their 156 total meetings together, Die Knappen won in 60, while BVB won in 53 along with 43 draws.
Dortmund skipper Marco Reus, who has been a regular customer in this derby, only scored once in the last nine Revierderby tiffs. He will be looking to add more to his total for sure.
Meanwhile, centre-back Mats Hummels has yet to be defeated in his last 11 matches versus Schalke for both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich (W8, D3).
The Yellow Wall blew out Schalke in their encounter last May 16th, with a scoreline of 4-0.
Betting Tip
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Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke 04 | Borussia Dortmund Asian Handicap -1.75 @ 1.82 |
| October 25, 12:30 (GMT+8) |
The latest Bundesliga 2020 odds are quite lopsided to say the least.
Borussia Dortmund are heavily favoured to win at home at 1.22, while Schalke are pegged at 10.00 and a draw is at 6.60 in the 1×2 market.
Lucien Favre’s men would surely like to bounce back after their loss against Lazio the other day, and what better way to cure your ills than a match against a lowly opponent.
However, with a rivalry of this magnitude, Borussia Dortmund cannot afford to take their visitors lightly especially if they have plans of finally dethroning Bayern Munich in the championship race by season’s end.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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