BUNDESLIGA

FC Schalke 04 vs BVB 09 Dortmund
Veltins Arena, Dortmund, Germany
Saturday, April 1st, 2017 9:30AM EST FS1

Welcome back everybody! Last week all eyes descended upon South America as the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers were taking place.  Big time matchups such as Brazil vs Uruguay and LSB’s Match of the Week, Argentina vs Chile, truly packed a punch as they were filled with physicality, passion, skill, and flair.  I fully expect the same in this week’s main feature between Schalke and Dortmund!  That’s right, Germany’s famed Revierderby is this Saturday.  So, let me get you primed with a brief background of the rivalry, provide my keys to the game, and reveal my LSB prediction!

The Revierderby

Heralded as Germany’s fiercest derby, the matchup between Ruhr river rivals dates back to 1925.  In that time, these two clubs, who’s stadiums are separated by less than 25 miles, battled it out for the supporters, on and off the pitch. They have played 149 times, seeing Schalke win 58 matches, Dortmund win 51 games, and both sides drawing on 40 occasions.  In addition, when they weren’t going toe-to-toe on the field, they were jockeying for German and European supremacy, as the Royal Blues and the Black and Yellows have won a combined 15 Bundesliga Titles, 8 DFB-Pokal’s and 2 European Titles (Dortmund winning the 1996-97 Champions League and Schalke winning the UEFA Cup in the same season).  Thus, it’s clear to see why this derby is so special to those in Deutschland and why the 150th meeting between bitter rivals will be such a joy to watch!

Keys to the Match

Once again this season, the Miners and BVB are excelling on the pitch, domestically and internationally.  Both clubs find themselves in the quarterfinals of their respective European competitions, as well as being among the top seven in the Bundesliga.  With that said, these two clubs have earned their success by very different means, which brings me to my keys to the match.  For Borussia Dortmund, they possess a high flying, high octane offensive attack, led by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Marco Reus, Ousmane Dembele, and the United States own Cristian Pulisic!  This quartet is electric, looking to blaze forward whenever possible, ultimately putting up video game-like numbers by game’s end.  Thus, expect this bunch to threaten Schalke through out the match.

Schalke however, features a far less desirable approach to its game, as the Royal Blues are more methodical whilst possessing the football and are anchored by three seasoned veterans, two on the backline and one up front.  Club Captain Center-Half Benedikt Howedes and counterpart Naldo provide a real sense of security, defensively. These two have a combined 546 Bundesliga appearances under their belts, as well as an additional 44 international caps with Germany for Howedes.  Also, Vice-Club Captain Striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has donned the Royal Blue kit on 168 occasions while producing 81 goals.  Thus, the recipe for success with Schalke is to be well balanced with veteran quality near both goals, ultimately showing its “Klaas” in the winners column. 

LSB Prediction

 Schalke will have the home stage in the 150th meeting of the Revierderby, which will lead a helpful hand.  The time-tested trio of Howedes, Huntelaar and Naldo will aim to take the sting out of BVB’s attacking bite. Still, Borussia Dortmund will prove to have a bigger bit.  The blistering pace down the flanks with Dembele and Pulisic, as well as the center power of Reus and Aubameyang, will simply have Schalke’s men scrambling a time or three too many. 3-1 BVB 09 Dortmund