Schalke captain Omar Mascarell will feature in the Bundesliga's standout fixture upon its return on Saturday as the Royal Blues will face Borussia Dortmund in the Revierderby at Signal Iduna Park.
Usually this clash is one of the fiercest derbies in the Bundesliga, but outside of Germany it hasn't received the same acclaim as some other rivalries in Europe.
"This derby is not too well known at an international level, but people are getting excited here," Mascarell told MARCA.
"It's one of the top three games of the year for both teams."
Matches will be played behind closed doors for the remainder of this season and the 27-year-old admitted that it's going to be strange, especially as a ground such as Dortmund's that generates such an incredible atmosphere.
"It's going to be really weird," Mascarell stated.
"It motivates me a lot when I play there because of the atmosphere."
To make the match even more interesting, victory is essential for both teams' aspirations: Dortmund need a win to cut their four-point gap behind leaders Bayern Munich, whereas Schalke are in the final Europa League position, but they have Wolfsburg, Freiburg and Hoffenheim hot on their heels.
Despite the coronavirus-enforced stoppage, Dortmund coach Lucien Favre has been unable to welcome back two players who have been out with lengthy injuries in Dan-Axel Zagadou and Marco Reus, while Emre Can and Axel Witsel will also miss out due to injury.
"It's a big challenge to play without fans in this kind of match," said Favre. The Bundesliga is back in style.