Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund
There have been some great battles in the Revierderby over the years and Bundesliga: Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund is one of the biggest fixtures in European football.
But when the two teams meet on Saturday at the Veltins Arena, fans of Schalke will fear the worst as their team sits bottom of the league, nine points from safety and with time running out; while their visitors are chasing a top four spot. This is one of the most long-standing rivalries in the game and, here at SBOTOP, we think the Dortmund fans will be smiling on Saturday night and the Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund betting odds point to a comfortable away victory.
Talking Points
Hoppe hopes to save Schalke 04
A year ago Schalke were pushing for Europe, in sixth place and with 35 points, so to find themselves rock bottom with just nine on the board and only 13 games remaining is a desperate situation. Die Knappen have looked doomed for some weeks, without a win in almost a year they were homing in on Tasmania Berlin’s unwanted record of 31 games without a victory, but having made it to 30, Schalke finally broke their duck in January by beating 1899 Hoffenheim 4-0, a thumping win for a team in such dire straits.
Schalke 04’s Matthew Hoppe in action during their match against RB Leipzig
Young US striker Matt Hoppe scored a hat-trick against Hoffenheim and has five for the season since he made his debut on 28th November 2020. Die Knappen have only scored 15 throughout the campaign so the 19 year old has been a rare bright spark in their struggle. Hoppe has a lot riding on his young shoulders as his team’s best hope: “The biggest goal is to help Schalke stay in the first division,” he said. “That’s what my focus is right now but I want to keep scoring goals, keep helping the team any way I can.”
Amine Harit also scored against Hoffenheim and he has made five assists, so Hoppe has a supply from the Moroccan, though Schalke’s problems at the back have been just as troubling as up front, earning just one clean sheet in 16 league games.
It’s been a real season of turmoil for the Ruhr club. Head coach Christian Gross has followed David Wagner, Manuel Baum and Huub Stevens as the fourth man in the hot seat at the Veltins Arena, appointed in December; and while it hasn’t exactly gone to plan he has, at least, achieved something the other three didn’t… a win!
Champions League success could spark Dortmund’s season
There have been managerial comings and goings at Borussia Dortmund too. Following the sacking of Lucien Favre; interim head coach Edin Terzic is minding the shop until the summer, when Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marco Rose is set to take over.
Currently in sixth place in the Bundesliga table, Dortmund have a six point gap to make up on either Eintracht Frankfurt or VFL Wolfsburg in third and fourth places, and have been inconsistent of late; so a 3-2 win away to Sevilla in the Champions League has handed a timely boost to die Schwarzgelben.
Erling Braut Haaland was on target twice against the Spaniards and he is looking in seriously good form, with 15 goals in the league he’ll expect to add to his tally on Saturday.
At the other end of the pitch there is some hope for young Hoppe; BVB have conceded 13 goals in the last six games, two in each of the last four matches.
History
The head to head Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund results, in all games since 1992, might come as a surprise as the die Knappen have won 19 to Dortmund’s 16.
They are the worst side in the league this season, but last season Schalke finished 12th, and not long ago they were one of Germany’s top sides. Schalke have won seven league titles and five DFB Pokals, in 2011 they reached the Champions League semi-final, and in 2017/18 they finished second in the Bundesliga to FC Bayern.
But the decline has been rapid and die Schwarzgelben beat Schalke 3-0 at the Signal Iduna Park in November and by 4-0 at home at the end of the 2019/20 season. The corresponding fixture at the Veltins ended in a 0-0 draw.
Betting Tip
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Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund | Borussia Dortmund Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 1.93 |
| February 21, 01:30 (GMT+8) |
Schalke are at 8.25 to win their second game of the league season, while the draw is at 4.90 and Borussia Dortmund is at 1.34.
The Borussia defence will give Schalke some hope, but their attack should have too much for their hosts and, for an outside bet at odds of 8.75, an outcome of 1-3 would be no surprise.
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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The post Bundesliga: Dortmund to Dominate in Ruhr Derby appeared first on SBOTOP.
