That's naughty from the Schalke fans, but Bochum return fire. All in good spirits...

Into the first of four added minutes. What a result this will be for Schalke!

A tired-looking Frey is replaced by ex-Bochum man Terodde. Broschinski and Osei-Tutu are on in a positive double change for the hosts. Can they get a goal?

Hoffenheim trail Mainz, so will stay on 19 points with Bochum and Schalke, if things stay as they are. Augsburg lead Bremen, and will move eight points clear of the bottom three with a win.

No changes at the break. Can Schalke defend a lead they barely deserve?

That's what the live table is telling us. As things stand, they're trading places with Bochum on goal difference. Harsh on the hosts, who created the better openings in a tight first half.

The Japan international drives in off the righht and arrows a shot towards the bottom corner, but there's Fährmann at full stretch to push it away.

Both sides have enjoyed a few decent passing passages, but not much else. You'd expect it to be cagey, mind...

Can Schalke end the away-day hoodoo and climb off the foot of the table?

Bochum are in their traditional blue threads, so it's an all-white change strip for visiting Schalke.

Superb atmosphere at the Ruhr Stadion as the teams take to the field. This is a huge deal in these parts....

Bochum and Schalke occupied the bottom two places at the onset of the World Cup break. The difference then was the Royal Blues were four points behind their Ruhr distrcit neighbours, and five adrift of the safe house. They've since cut the gap on the three teams directly above them - Bochum, Hoffenheim and VfB Stuttgart (all 19 points) - to three points. Hertha Berlin - on 20 points, in 14th - are also fighting for their top-flight lives.

Saidy Janko and Danilo Soares are recalled in the full-back positions as Letsch reverts to a four-man defence following last week's 3-0 loss in Bremen. Philipp Förster and Patrick Osterhage also come in to shore up the midfield, with Messrs Stafylidis, Osei-Tutu, Lampropoulos and Kunde dropping to the bench. As for Schalke, Cedric Brunner is passed fit to return at right-back, while Eder Balanta replaces the injured Dominick Drexler in midfield.

Riemann (c) - Janko, Masovic, Schlotterbeck, Soares - Stöger, Osterhage, Förster - Asano, Hofmann, Antwi-Adjei

Esser, Stafylidis, Osei-Tutu, Ordets, Lampropoulos, Heintz, Kunde Malong, Broschinski, Ganvoula

Fährmann - Brunner, Yoshida (c), Jenz, Matriciani - Kral, Balanta, Krauß - Zalazar, Bülter - Frey

Schwolow, Greiml, Kaminski, Müller, Can Aydin, Mohr, Terodde, Karaman

Bochum coach Thomas Letsch has been giving his take on today's relegation battle at the Ruhrstadion: "I’m really looking forward to this fixture," the tactician said. "I’m expecting a match packed full of emotions. These are the kind of fixtures we have been working for. On the one hand we’ll have to carry the positive emotions, on the other hand we need to keep a cool head. We have clear tactical plan that we want to put into action."

Schalke’s Simon Terodde scored 41 times in 66 Bundesliga 2 appearances for Bochum between 2014 and 2016. His second season there was the first time he finished as the second division’s top scorer, with 25 goals. It’s a feat he repeated for a fourth time last season with 30 to fire Schalke back to the Bundesliga.

Schalke boss Thomas Reis began the season in charge at Bochum, but was in fact dismissed after losing 3-1 in Gelsenkirchen back on Matchday 6. Just a few weeks later and he was handed the reins at the Veltins-Arena. The 49-year-old spent three years in charge at the Ruhrstadion, overseeing 112 games where he guided them to promotion in 2021 and top-flight safety last season.

Things have improved a lot for Schalke of late, having conceded the fewest goals of all teams in the five games since the Rückrunde began (one). They and regional rivals Dortmund – who they host next week in the main Revierderby – are the only two teams yet to lose in the Bundesliga since the midpoint of the season.

Bochum have the worst defence in the division in 2022/23 with 54 goals conceded. Schalke are second-worst in that record with 42. Things aren’t much kinder for them at the other end of the pitch, either. The Royal Blues are the Bundesliga’s lowest scorers with just 16 goals. Bochum with 24 scored are the second-worst team.

Victory for Schalke in Bochum would not only see them do the double over their near neighbours this season but also see them go above VfL on goal difference. It would be the first time since Matchday 10 that they weren’t bottom of the table. It is already the first time ever that these sides have met in the Bundesliga when occupying the bottom two positions.

Thanks for joining us for build-up and live match coverage of the Matchday 23 fixture between VfL Bochum 1848 and FC Schalke 04.