''The derby atmosphere is in the air,'' said Franz Pfanne in the latest episode of the BVB podcast. Matchday 37 of the Regionalliga West season will see the U23s of BVB and FC Schalke 04 go head-to-head in the Ruhr Derby. Kick-off in the Fußballpark Hohenbuschei is scheduled for 14:00 CET on Saturday.

The run-in of the current season has begun. The Black & Yellows have six games still to play, the dream of promotion is close to being realised. The team came into this week's training well prepared and with the right mentality. ''We want to win the derby, that goes without saying,'' said Alaa Bakir as he looked ahead to Saturday's showdown. Schalke have picked up 47 points from 34 games and are currently placed 10th in the table. The Royal Blues have won three of their last four games, with the sole defeat in this time period coming against second-placed RW Essen. Schalke did not play a game last week.

Although BVB have a 34-point advantage over their rivals, Bakir is nonetheless expecting ''an evenly-matched game.'' This was certainly the case in the reverse fixture - at least in the opening 20 minutes before Ansgar Knauff opened the floodgates for the Black & Yellows. When all was said and done, Niklas Dams, Richmond Tachie, Philipp Harlass and Kolbeinn Finnsson also got their names on the scoresheet to help BVB to a comfortable 5-1 win. The game marked Ansgar Knauff's first goal in senior football.

In their third-to-last home game, league leaders Dortmund will be hoping to maintain or even extend the gap between them and second-placed RW Essen. Essen host VfB Homberg at Hafenstraße on Saturday afternoon. BVB coach Enrico Maaßen will still have to make do without the services of Taylan Duman, Maximilian Hippe and Moritz Broschinski. Patrick Osterhage has made his return to training, but it remains to be seen whether or not he will be able to play on Saturday.

BVB-TV will broadcast Saturday's match live on YouTube. (tl)