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".

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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.