No other fixture in German football exerts a rivalry in the same breath as the Revierderby. The games between the Black n Yellows and the Royal Blues have attracted a total attendance of more than 4.6 million fans so far, and every meeting in Dortmund since 1987 has been a sell-out!

The Scenario: It’s second against third – making the derby an (almost) top-of-the-table clash. In spite of long injury lists, both sides enter the game in good form: BVB have won three of their last four matches in the Bundesliga, while Schalke have lost only one of their last eleven.

Home/away: Borussia have some catching-up to do, dropping 13 of 39 points so far this season and being only fifth in the home table. Schalke have won three of their last four away and picked up 21 points on their travels this season – much more than at the same stage last season (13 points). Only BVB (26) and Bayern (35) have been more successful on the road this season.

Personnel matters: In Gündogan (fitness training), Bender (pubic bone), Schmelzer (torn groin muscle), Blaszczykowski (ACL) and Subotic (ACL and MCL), BVB will be without five internationals, while Schalke have to do without the services of nine players: Aogo (ACL), Santana (hamstring), Fuchs (knee), Höwedes (groin), Kirchhoff (ankle), Uchida (tendon), Clemens (pubic bone), Höger (ACL) and Farfan (knee)

Tactics: Both sides are expected to set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Head-to-head: Ahead of the 144th Revierderby, the Royal Blues are ahead in the head-to-head battle (57 wins, 37 draws, 49 losses), but most of their wins date back to the pre-Bundesliga era. The Black n Yellows have a better record in the Bundesliga, winning 18 of the 41 home games against Schalke (12 draws, 11 losses). A total of 13 players have been sent off in this fixture (11 in this millennium!) - eight from Schalke and five from Dortmund – and a total of the 20 penalties have been awarded – 14 of them against Schalke.

Statistics: Only Bayern (24 wins) have picked up more wins this season than Borussia (16). Schalke, who have won 11 points more than at the same stage last season and kept 10 clean sheets so far – more than in the entire campaign last year (eight). BVB have kept a clean sheet in four of their last five games.

Biggest home win: BVB romped to a 7-0 victory over their neighbours in the 1965/66 season, with Siggi Held, Aki Schmidt, Siggi Held, Wilhelm Sturm, Hoppy Kurrat, Aki Schmidt and Lothar Emmerich scoring the goals at Rote Erde stadium on 26 February 1966.

Attendance: The Derby has been a sell-out in Dortmund since 1987 – a total of 77,600 fans will pack Signal Iduna Pack on Tuesday, with 3,045 seats remaining empty for security reasons.

Referee: Florian Meyer, the 2008/2009 referee of the year, has some experience in officiating Derbies. This season, the 45-year-old has already refereed BVB against Stuttgart (6-1) and Leverkusen (0-1), both at home.