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Reus refuses to lose derby

Berlin - After Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang compared winning the Ruhr Valley derby to "an orgasm" now his Borussia Dortmund team-mate Marco Reus says losing at home to Schalke on Saturday is "forbidden".

With just 35 kilometres separating Dortmund from Gelsenkirchen-based Schalke, their Ruhr Valley rivalry is Germany's top derby and is perfectly poised with 30 wins each and 25 draws in their 85 previous meetings.

"When you see the blue and white shirts, you now it's going to be a red-hot battle until you drop. Losing is forbidden," Dortmund-born Reus, who last week extended his Borussia contract until 2019, told Bundesliga.de.

"It's a derby you always look forward to, especially when you're playing at home.

"For the city, the club and the fans, it's extremely important to give everything to have to get the win."

Dortmund face the Royal Blues of Schalke at their 80,000-capacity Westfalenstadion ground with the hosts looking to avenge their 2-1 defeat in Gelsenkirchen last September.

Three straight league wins have seen Dortmund climb to 12th from bottom of the Bundesliga while Schalke are fourth in the table.

Borussia's top-scorer Aubameyang raised eye-brows earlier this week by insisting winning the derby had an erotic factor.

"I love games like this. Derby wins - even if it sounds strange - are almost like an orgasm. In all honesty, it is a similar feeling," the fleet-footed winger who has scored four goals in his last four games told magazine Sport Bild.

Schalke hope to include Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for Saturday after the Dutch striker returned to training on Monday having bruised his shin in last week's 2-0 Champions League defeat against Real Madrid.

Dortmund will definitely be without defender Lukasz Piszczek for the next six weeks after the left-back tore ankle ligaments in Borussia's 2-1 defeat at Juventus on Tuesday.

Greece centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos faces a race against time with a groin injury, but both defender Neven Subotic and winger Kevin Kampla are set to return after recovering from an upset stomach.

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