THE first of Europe’s major leagues to return to action during the coronavirus pandemic, the Bundesliga’s resumption this weekend is controversial and, with all games taking place without fans in stadiums, will lack the atmosphere we’ve become accustomed to from Germany’s top flight.

But if any fixture in German football can guarantee intensity and intrigue even in an empty stadium, it’s the Revierderby between rivals Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, which stands out among the line-up of games on Saturday.

And Dortmund’s teenage American prodigy Giovanni Reyna agrees. “I think I speak for the whole team when I say that we're buzzing to get playing again,” the 17-year-old midfielder told BVB’s YouTube channel. “I've never seen a derby live or played in one, so, of course, I've been really looking forward to this game. They're a great team but I think if we play the way we can play then we can win. It's going to be a high-intensity game with or without fans.”

There would ordinarily be 80,000 fans crammed into Signal Iduna Park for this, the marquee fixture of the German football calendar as far as the Ruhr region is concerned. On Saturday, though, there will be only around 300 people in what will be the echoing home of Dortmund, that number made up of players, coaching staff, medical teams and officials.

Despite the eerie emptiness inside what is typically one of European football’s most atmospheric cathedrals, there will be local pride and much more on the line in this particular derby.

After the league’s two-month, pandemic-enforced absence, Dortmund resume their chase of table-topping champions Bayern Munich, currently four points behind the Bavarian behemoth in second place. And Schalke are clinging desperately to the final Europa League-qualification spot in sixth, 12 points outside the top four but only two clear of Hoffenheim down in ninth.

Prior to the unexpected recess, Dortmund had found a level of consistency that had eluded them for much of the first half of the season, winning four Bundesliga games in a row for the first time this term to launch themselves back into title contention.

The match at Signal Iduna Park is likely to somewhat resemble a training game due to the lack of fan noise and the likelihood that television viewers will be able to hear the players communicating with one another. And it is expected that this one will have the feel of an attack-vs-defence drill, with Dortmund’s fearsome frontline repeatedly testing Schalke’s rear guard. Indeed, with seven and four goals respectively, BVB starlets Erling Braut Haaland and Jadon Sancho have each scored more times since the winter break than the entire Schalke team (four).
 

Emre Can & Axel Witsel are both out of Borussia Dortmund's game vs Schalke on Saturday, according to Kicker.

Expect Thomas Delaney and Julian Brandt to start in central-midfield.

— Get German Football News (@GGFN_) May 12, 2020

Dortmund’s revered attack – they are the second-highest scorers in the Bundesliga this season, behind only Bayern – will be without captain Marco Reus, though, as a thigh injury continues to rule of one of the most tragically injury-beset footballers in Europe. And Schalke, who are without a win in seven league games, will be encouraged by the fact Axel Witsel and Emre Can, BVB’s midfield ballast, are also ruled out, having picked up injuries since returning to training.

But for David Wagner’s side to take advantage of those absences they’ll need their own attackers to rediscover their elusive best form. Gifted and versatile Moroccan attacking midfielder Amine Harit, with six goals and four assists, has been involved in more Bundesliga goals than any other Schalke players this season, but he has not scored in his last 13 games or assisted in his last 10. And forwards Guido Burgstaller, Michael Gregoritsch and Benito Ramen have only four goals between them for the entire league campaign to date.

Schalke will hope the absence of supporters at Dortmund’s home stadium levels the playing field when the two sides meet. And their own American prodigy, 21-year-old midfielder Weston McKennie, is relishing the prospect of the most unusual Revierderby.

"It's going to definitely take me on a trip back down memory lane when I was a young kid not playing in front of anyone, nobody on the sidelines,” he told CBS Sports HQ. “It will be different, it will be a bit awkward because if you make a mistake or something, you'll definitely hear the reactions of the coaches. It will be weird. I think if we do score, we will probably celebrate like there are fans still there, just with the distance between everyone."

Different and awkward it certainly will be, but the historical rivalry between Dortmund and Schalke and each club’s own competitive interests ensure there is no more fitting fixture to restart the Bundesliga.
 

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