Der Klassiker preview: Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich clash with title on the line
The fate of the title race will be on the line as arch-rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund lock horns for the 100th time.
Both teams know how important this game is. Should Borussia Dortmund come out on top with all three points then it should see them go five points clear with just six more games to go. Should Bayern Munich come away with all three points then they will regain top spot by one point. A draw will help the Black and Yellows keep their lead of two points.
Match Information
Location: Allianz Arena
Date: 6/4/2019
Time: 6:30pm CEST| 5:30pm BST| 12:30pm ET
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Bayern Munich
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The Bavarians have had a shaky past few games including a nail-biting 5-4 victory against Bundesliga 2 side FC Heidenheim on Wednesday. The midweek fixture was a real scare and showed just how fragile their back four can be. A 1-1 draw against 12th place Freiburg saw Bayern lose the top spot after Paco Alcacer’s heroics against Wolfsburg gave Dortmund all three points to go top. But Bayern are a formidable force at home. They are without a defeat in their past seven games at the Allianz Arena and have won the last two of them by six unanswered goals.
Borussia Dortmund
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The Black and Yellows have recovered from their poor slump in form after the beginning of the Ruckrunde. The victories haven’t come easy and some were even unlikely but Favre’s side edged through them and have won their last three games. The most recent win being at home against Wolfsburg. Dortmund were just not themselves for the entire ninety minutes but Paco Alcacer came to the rescue with a late freekick to seal the deal for Dortmund. Favre’s side will know that if they want to beat Bayern then they need to play at their best for all ninety minutes. This result will have a massive impact on the title race and they can’t rely on last-minute heroics if they want all three points.
Team News:
Bayern Munich seem to have a near full strength squad for the game as they only have three players are set to miss tomorrow’s game. Tolisso and Davies will be sidelined along with veteran winger Arjen Robben, who has been known to cause Dortmund problems over the years. Other than that it is a formidable but penetrable Bayern Munich side that will host Borussia Dortmund.
It’s not good news for the Black and Yellows in the injury department as Paco Alcacer and Raphaël Guerreiro did not travel with the squad to Munich. Alcacer is suffering from an arm injury while Guerreiro’s reason is still unknown. It was Paco Alcacer who made the difference in the previous meeting between the two sides and his absence might truly be felt.
Lukasz Piszczek and Abdou Diallo have returned to the first team but lack match fitness so it will all depend on Favre if they are going to start. Hakimi and Pulisic are also set to miss the clash due to injury.
Opposition star man: Robert Lewandowski
Who else? The Polish international is one goal away from 200 Bundesliga goals and will be eagerly looking to get it against his former club. The ex-Dortmund man has once again been on fire for Bayern Munich this season as the top scorer in the Bundesliga with 19 goals. And he is a player who loves playing against The Black and Yellows. In total, Lewandowski has scored 13 goals in Der Klassiker. 12 for Bayern and 1 for Dortmund. He is one short of Gerd Muller’s record of 14 Klassiker goals. With key men missing in Dortmund’s backline it will be a difficult yet possible task of keeping him quiet.
Last Match: Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Bayern Munich
No Borussia Dortmund fan will forget the iconic “Paco Alcacer!!!!!” moment that occurred the last time these two sides met in November. It was the day the label “title contenders” was put on Borussia Dortmund. It wasn’t always plain sailing though, as a poor first half saw Bayern go into the break with a 1-0 lead thanks to a Robert Lewandowski’s header from close range. But in the second half, Dortmund were a team reborn and immediately equalized just 4 minutes after the break thanks to a Marco Reus penalty.
But Bayern went ahead just 3 minutes later after a brilliant link-up play between Gnabry and Kimmich who set up Lewandowski for Bayern’s second. Dortmund rallied after that and a bit of magic from Marco Reus saw them equalize in the 67th minute. And finally, a through ball from Axel Wistel saw super sub-Paco Alcacer go one on one with Manuel Neuer only to chip the ball over the German goalkeeper. It was a sublime win which put Dortmund in the driver’s seat in the road to the Bundesliga title.
Possible Lineups:
Bayern: Neuer – Kimmich, Süle, Hummels, Alaba – Martinez, Thiago – Gnabry, James, Coman – Lewandowski
Borussia Dortmund: Bürki – Wolf, Akanji, Zagadou, Diallo – Witsel, Delaney – Sancho, Reus, Bruun Larsen – Götze
dark. Next. Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich: Combined XI