Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke Preview: How to Watch on TV, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News

Football! Long time no see! And you've bought the Revierderby with you, you so-and-so! Just one question pal - where are all the fans?

It would normally amount to journalistic malpractice to describe the animosity between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 without the word 'pulsating', but this time the Ruhr rivals are going to have to rev themselves up for a game behind closed doors.

With Schalke chasing a European spot and Dortmund chasing a ninth Bundesliga title, this intense, high-stakes derby should be an interesting case study for whether football can work in the world of coronavirus - but aside from that nerd stuff, it's a match which always, always delivers.

Where to Watch

When Is Kick Off? Saturday 16 May
What Time Is Kick Off? 14:30 (GMT)
Where Is it Played? Signal Iduna Park
TV Channel/Live Stream? BT Sport (UK), fuboTV (US)
Referee? TBC

Team News

Given the impact coronavirus has had on player fitness regimens, it's unsurprising that Dortmund have quite a few doubts ahead of Saturday's clash.

Alongside the already injured Dan-Axel Zagadou, who is ruled out with knee ligament damage, and Marco Reus, who has only just returned to training after picking up a muscle injury against Werder Bremen, the midfield pairing of Axel Witsel and Emre Can are also unlikely to feature after muscle complaints of their own during training, according to a report from Kicker.

The fitness of Jadon Sancho who has a long-term issue - also muscular - is said to be in doubt for the Revierderby too, alongside other key players Achraf Hakimi, Manuel Akanji, Mario Gotze and Marcel Schmelzer.

Schalke have fewer injury woes, although former Tottenham man Benjamin Stambouli, being treated for a metatarsal injury, is set to miss out. Defensive starlet Ozan Kabak is a doubt after picking up a back injury against Koln, and club captain Omar Mascarell will be sidelined for the foreseeable future after picking up an adductor injury in March.

Predicted Lineups

Borussia Dortmund Burki; Piszczek, Hummels, Balerdi; Morey, Brandt, Delaney, Guerreiro; Sancho, Haaland, Hazard.

Schalke 04 Nubel; Kenny, Todibo, Nastasic, Oczipka; McKennie, Schopf, Serdar; Raman, Harit, Gregoritsch.

Head to Head Record

The rivalry between Schalke and Dortmund is one of the most closely fought in German football, and though Die Borussen have been the more successful club over the previous decade, it didn't stop Schalke from sneaking a few famous victories.

One of the more stunning installations of the Revierderby in recent memory saw Schalke mount an enormous comeback away from home after a four-goal salvo from Dortmund seemed to put the game out of sight.

This 2017 clash typified the intensity and indomitable spirit associated with this derby, as Naldo's equaliser deep into injury time rescued a point for Die Konigsblauen.

Dortmund will be even more eager for revenge after last season, when Schalke helped derail their title charge by again coming back away from home, this time to win 4-2 after Gotze's early goal.

'Recent' Form

Dortmund will have to shake off the memory of their most recent match before football took a breather - a gut-wrenching away loss to Paris Saint-Germain that saw them lose a Champions League round of 16 tie that they were winning after the first leg.

Fortunately, they were absolutely rocking in the league before that, with four wins from a possible five keeping them in an exciting race for the title that could have up to five horses competing in it.

Things were not looking as rosy for Schalke, who, after initially mounting a title challenge under former Huddersfield gaffer David Wagner, have failed to win in an astonishing seven of their last eight games.

In only three of these eight games have they managed to put the ball in the back of the net, which suggests that finding the onion bag is a serious issue for the Gelsenkirchen outfit at present.

Here's how both sides got on in their five most recent fixtures before the Bundesliga was suspended.

Borussia Dortmund ​

PSG 2-0 Borussia Dortmund (11/3)
Borussia Monchengladbach 1-2 Borussia Dortmund (7/3)
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Freiburg (29/2)
Werder Bremen 0-2 Borussia Dortmund (22/2)
Borussia Dortmund 2-1 PSG (18/2)

Schalke 04​

Schalke 04 1-1 Hoffenheim (7/3)
Schalke 04 0-1 Bayern Munich (3/3)
Koln 3-0 Schalke 04 (29/2)
Schalke 04 0-5 RB Leipzig (22/2)
Mainz 0-0 Schalke 04 (16/2)

Prediction

It's a brave new world for football, and predicting this is about as easy as trying to defend against Sancho on a fast break without him nutmegging you.

Add Dortmund's injuries to Schalke's unlikely recent successes in this fixture and the fact that the only challenges footballers have faced in recent weeks are the Instagram ones, and you may as well try and predict what colour socks Amine Harit will wear - yeah, they'll probably be blue, but you get the idea.

With that in mind, a shock Schalke victory seems somewhat in fitting with the current climate of footballing uncertainty, and they could end their miserable winless streak on Saturday in astonishing fashion. Maybe.

Prediction: Dortmund 2-5 Schalke