The Big Two Meet in DFB Pokal

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This week sees the Bundesliga take a break in Germany and all attention turns to the DFB Pokal with games on Tuesday and Wednesday night.

The pick of the Round of 16 ties is without question the meeting between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the Allianz Arena.  The current league leaders, Bayern Munich, are still on for a treble this season with the Bundesliga and Champions League up for grabs.

Borussia Dortmund dropped out of the Champions League and are too far behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga can still win a cup double with the Europa League and DFB Pokal.

Bayern Munich come into this match on the back of a 1-0 win at Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on the weekend. The result could have been much different as Stuttgart had a last-minute penalty but it was saved by Sven Ulreich.

Trends show Bayern Munich have won each of their last five games in all competitions and have lost just one of their last sixteen.  The most impressive thing about this run of form is the number of games they have won and Bayern Munich have won fourteen of their last fifteen matches.

In their recent home games, both the defence and the attack have been performing well and Bayern Munich have conceded only 2 goals in their last seven matches in all competitions and have scored an average of 2.85 goals per game.

Things have not been as smooth for Borussia Dortmund, who recently lost their manager. However, Peter Stoger has come in and steadied the ship at Signal Iduna Park by winning his two matches in control of the team.

There have been wins at Mainz and at home against Hoffenheim, both in the Bundesliga and these results have seen Borussia Dortmund return to the Champions League qualifying positions.

However, they are out of contention for the title this season and the Champions League, so in addition to the Europa League, the DFB Pokal presents Borussia Dortmund’s best chance of winning a trophy.

Away form has seen just one win in their last five games, which was the 2-0 league victory at Mainz and while they have struggled to keep cleans sheets throughout that run of games, they have scored in each of them, averaging 1.6 goals per game.

Team news and Bayern Munich will continue without Manuel Neuer in goal plus Arjen Robben and Thiago Alcantara are on the treatment table.  Jupp Heynkes is expected to pick a strong team for this game, with Robert Lewandowski leading the attack.

Borussia Dortmund still have many injury problems with Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, Erik Durm, Lukasz Piszczek, Gonzalo Castro, Sebastian Rode and Max Philipp all set to miss this game.

This should be a very exciting cup match, with both teams looking to score goals.  Bayern look the better team defensively and should come out on top but will find it tough to keep out Borussia Dortmund’s strong attack.  Expect to see over 2.5 goals in a home win.