Bayern Munich are having a great season, playing the kind of football everyone expected them to play in manager Pep Guardiola’s second season. The Bavarians are undefeated in the Bundesliga, taking 21 points from nine matches, winning seven and drawing two. Across the country, rivals Borussia Dortmund are struggling mightily in the league. Although they have been the hottest team in the Champions League, their league form has been that of a team you would tip for relegation. Six losses in the first nine played sees them 14 points back of Bayern, less than a third of the way through the year.
Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund: Preview and TV schedule
Due to somewhat inexplicable league form, der Klassiker will not feature number one against number two. That’s because Borussia Dortmund are just one point above the relegation zone.
Lars Baron
It’s hard to say that this is a must win for Dortmund. The gap is already so huge. Bayern show no signs of dropping that many points in the league the rest of the year, unless some (more) serious injuries happen to quite a few players. Dortmund’s focus doesn’t appear to be in the domestic league anyways. This game doesn’t feel like an average league match though, so maybe Jürgen Klopp’s side will be motivated.
Bayern will look to control the possession, however this may actually help Dortmund as they will be allowed to play on the counterattack. Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are pacy forwards who are always a threat to score. If Bayern can limit turnovers, they will effectively be able to stuff the counter before it starts. It has to hurt that former Schwarzgelben heroes Mario Götze and Robert Lewandowski have been Bayern’s top scorers this season. The pair have combined for ten goals so far, Götze scoring six and Lewandowski with four.
Bayern Munich injuries and suspensions
Out: Bastian Schweinsteiger (tonsils), Thiago Alcântara (knee), Pepe Reina (calf), Holger Badstuber (thigh), Javi Martinez (knee).
Borussia Dortmund injuries and suspensions
Out: Nuri Sahin (knee), Ji Dong-Won (eye).
Will Bayern ever play as Pep envisioned without Thiago? Probably not, but despite the midfield being devastated by knee injuries, they still have been doing alright. It would make you think that younger players have to step up, but Xabi Alonso has been the man holding it down. Dortmund are starting to get some players back from injury, but are Reus and Gündogan back to playing at the top of their respective games? Klopp better hope so.
Projected lineups
Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer, Rafinha, Mehdi Benatia, Jerôme Boateng, Xabi Alonso, Philipp Lahm, David Alaba, Thomas Müller, Arjen Robben, Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski
Borussia Dortmund: Roman Weidenfeller, Lukasz Piszczek, Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels, Erik Durm, Sebastian Kehl, Ilkay Gündogan, Shinji Kagawa, Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ciro Immobile
Match Date/Time: 6:30 p.m. local, 1:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
TV: GOLTV (U.S.), BT Sport 1 (U.K.), Sky Bundesliga 1, HD (Germany)
Online: GOLTV Online (U.S.), Sky Go Deutschland (Germany), Other countries available here
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