Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich preview: Who will win Der Klassiker?
On Saturday evening, Borussia Dortmund will play host to their great rivals Bayern Munich as the two sides commence battle in Der Klassiker.
Level on points ahead of kickoff, both teams know that the winner will move to the top of the Bundesliga table, with Freiburg and Union Berlin not in action until Sunday.
Level on points ahead of kickoff, both teams know that the winner will move to the top of the Bundesliga table, with Freiburg and Union Berlin not in action until Sunday.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Borussia Dortmund
As in previous seasons, a series of inconsistent performances have hampered Dortmund's progress this term. Their 12 matches in all competitions have yielded eight wins and four defeats, while three of those losses have taken place in the Bundesliga.
In their most recent league outing, Dortmund took a one-goal lead into half time of their away meeting with FC Köln, but within 11 minutes of the restart, they were trailing 2-1 courtesy of goals from Florian Kainz and former Dortmund man Steffen Tigges. Dejan Ljubičić added a third in the 71st minute, and although a Benno Schmitz own goal halved the deficit, Köln held firm to claim all three points
True to their inconsistent form, Edin Terzic's side returned to winning ways in midweek as they cruised to a comfortable 4-1 away victory over a struggling Sevilla side in the Champions League. They will face the La Liga club in the reverse fixture on Tuesday, but first, they must take part in arguably the biggest game in German football.
After losing their last two away league matches, Dortmund will be pleased that the season's first Klassiker will take place at Signal-Iduna-Park. Four of their five competitive home games this term have resulted in victory and another win on Saturday would certainly be a huge statement in the Bundesliga title race.
Team News
Terzic has confirmed that Marco Reus is still sidelined with an ankle injury, although a number of players could return. The Dortmund boss has indicated that Gregor Kobel, Giovanni Reyna, Mats Hummels and Marius Wolf will be assessed ahead of Saturday's contest to establish if they are fit enough to be included in the matchday squad.
However, the hosts are still unable to call upon Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Sebastien Haller, Mahmoud Dahoud and Mateu Morey.
Bayern Munich
Bayern may have endured a four-game winless league run before the international break, but they returned to winning ways on matchday eight with a comfortable 4-0 victory against Bayer Leverkusen. Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Sadio Mané and Thomas Müller all grabbed a goal apiece to help Bayern register their first league win since thrashing Bochum 7-0 on August 21.
After returning to winning ways in the league, the Bavarians maintained their 100% record in their Champions League group with another commanding victory in midweek. Viktoria Plzen were swept aside by a 5-0 scoreline following a Sane brace as well as goals from Serge Gnabry, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Mané.
Having scored nine goals in their last two games without conceding, Bayern head into Der Klassiker in a confident mood. Union and Freiburg may sit above them in the standings, but one defeat in 13 competitive matches this season suggests that it may not be long before Bayern reclaim top spot.
As they bid to clinch a nine consecutive win over Dortmund in all competitions, Bayern can take inspiration from the fact they are the league's highest scorers with 23 goals, while they also boast the joint-best defence in the Bundesliga.
Team News
Müller and Joshua Kimmich were ruled out for the meeting with Plzen due to COVID-19, and although the pair have since tested negative, Julian Nagelsmann has revealed that Müller is still unavailable as he "has some symptoms of a cold". However, Kimmich should be included in the matchday squad as well as Kingsley Coman, who is set to return after missing Bayern's last five matches.
As well as Müller being ruled out, the visitors are still without the services of Lucas Hernandez and Bouna Sarr due to injury issues