‘Der Klassiker’ to Live Up to the Name
CosminIftode / Shutterstock.com
Bayern Munich welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Allianz Arena on Saturday night in one of the biggest fixtures in the domestic European football calendar.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team are well clear at the top of the Bundesliga table and look on course to claim their fifth title in a row and their 27th in total, which is a fantastic record. However, if one team can put a spanner in the Bayern Munich works, its Borussia Dortmund.
The visitors have found some decent form of late and are undefeated in their last four games in all competitions. The comfortable 3-0 home victory against struggling Hamburg on Tuesday night leaves Dortmund in fourth place in the Bundesliga table, with 50 points from 27 games played.
In truth, this is much further off the pace than Thomas Tuchel would have wanted and expected at the start of the 2016/17 campaign. Dortmund have dropped plenty of points this season, in games they should have won. Examples of this include the 1-1 draw at Schalke last weekend, a 2-1 defeat at Darmstadt and draws with Augsburg and Koln.
However, only Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim have lost less games then Dortmund this season, so they have proven difficult to beat and have lost only 2 of their last 15 Bundesliga matches.
Bayern Munich come into this match having lost only their second Bundesliga game of the season on Tuesday night. Bayern were defeated 1-0 at Hoffenheim, a club who are enjoying a fantastic campaign. The match was always going to be one of Bayern’s toughest tests in the Bundesliga this season but the fact they failed to pass the test will have hurt.
Bayern’s only other league defeat this season came in the reverse fixture against Dortmund, so not only do the hosts want to bounce back from a rare defeat on Tuesday, they want revenge for the loss at the Signal Iduna Park earlier this season.
Bayern are undefeated at home this season and its home advantage which could make the difference in this game. Dropped points have come thanks to three 1-1 draws against Koln, Hoffenheim and Schalke. You must go back to the 2nd March 2016, to find the last time Bayern lost a Bundesliga match in the Allianz Arena.
Unfortunately for Dortmund, their away performances have been letting them down time and time again this season. Tuchel’s team have won only 4 matches on the road in the Bundesliga, the last of which came at Freiburg towards the end of February. Since that win, Dortmund have been held by Schalke and lost at Hertha Berlin.
In many ways, with a top four place almost guaranteed, Dortmund have very little to lose in this match, which makes them a dangerous opponent. Marco Reus could be back from injury and Dortmund will look to use their pace on the counter-attack. Bayern could welcome back Manuel Neuer in goal, which will be a huge boost to them following the way they conceded at Hoffenheim.
Bayern won this fixture 5-1 last season but will be in for a much tougher contest on Saturday evening. Dortmund have won 50% of the previous six Bundesliga games at the Allianz Arena but their away form suggests they will struggle to come away with maximum points this time. Expect plenty of goal mouth action but Bayern to come out on top.
Home
Football 
Basketball
Hockey
American Football
Baseball
Rugby
Volleyball
Handball
Esoccer
