Friday 19 / April / 2024
Berlin: The scenes outside Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park are unusual, to say the least, but also a sign of things to come in the weeks ahead. DW's Davis Van Opdorp is in place for us, reminding us that Germany's biggest stadium will be empty, like all of Germany's stadiums. Football is back, just not as we know it.
The 180th edition of the Revierderby will be like no other before it as Borussia Dortmund play host to Schalke in Germany's biggest football stadium... without the fans.
Saturday's clash will be the 180th Revierderby. A 2-1 win in December 2018 is the only time Borussia Dortmund have won in the last eight meetings. The last derby in Dortmund saw S04 win 4-2 – BVB's only BL home loss since Lucien Favre took charge.
Erling Haaland has stolen some of the spotlight since joining in January, but Dortmund's Jadon Sancho has been stealing the show this season. The 20-year-old has hand in at least one goal in his last eight games and leads the Bundesliga in goal involvements (29; 14 goals, 15 assists).
Schalke strikers not being the most dependable source of goals is nothing new and it also takes nothing away from Serdar being the club's top scorer this season. The Germany international's form has flourished under David Wagner and produced seven goals making his threat one BVB need to heed.
Well not if you're a Schalke fan. The Royal Blues have scored a league-low four goals in the Rückrunde – their lowest-ever tally after Matchday 25 (same as 1965-66 and 2010-11). It may have something to do with the fact only Hertha (267) and Augsburg (280) having attempted fewer shots.
