Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich: Three key battles to watch
Matthijs de Ligt vs Julian Brandt
Borussia Dortmund has enjoyed a good distribution of goals across the team. Everyone in the team has chipped in with goals, but Julian Brandt has been the most impressive forward for Dortmund. The German forward has enjoyed a good start to the season in terms of his overall play and productivity in the final third.
Brandt was on the scoresheet against Sevilla on Wednesday in the Champions League. The 26-year-old German forward will be a prime threat for Dortmund against Die Roten while playing in the number ten role behind Anthony Modeste.
Matthijs de Ligt had two solid games over the last seven days after struggling to get consistent starts before the international break. The Dutch defender has looked composed on the ball, allowing Rekordmeister to build from the back. He also won the majority of his aerial and ground duels to help Bayern in keeping clean sheets against Leverkusen and Plzen.
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Dayot Upamecano is likely to contest duels with Anthony Modeste on Saturday, so de Ligt has to be aware of Brandt. The German forward will be making late runs in the box to pounce on the headers won by Modeste. It is a crucial individual battle in the final third that Bayern cannot afford to lose if they want to come back home with a clean sheet.