Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich: Matchday 9 Preview
The first Der Klassiker of the season is taking place on matchday nine of the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich will be travelling to Signal Iduna Park on Saturday. Both teams have endured a mixed start to the campaign, so there is no clear favourite for this game. However, Bayern still holds the upper hand on Saturday due to their recent record in Der Klassiker.
Die Roten will be travelling to Dortmund on the back of two convincing victories against Bayer Leverkusen and Viktoria Plzen. The defending Bundesliga champions arrested their poor run of form after the international break by dismantling Leverkusen at Allianz Arena last Friday. They also took a massive step towards booking a place in the round of 16 of the Champions League by beating Plzen on Tuesday. Julian Nagelsmann will be hoping for another dominant performance on Saturday to make it three wins in a row across all competitions.
Borussia Dortmund suffered a setback last weekend as they lost to FC Koln. The last couple of matchdays has been frustrating for Dortmund. They had suffered defeat away at RB Leipzig before the international break. Dortmund managed to bring an end to a poor run of form with a comfortable win against Sevilla on Wednesday in the Champions League. The win against the Spanish side will give Dortmund the right momentum ahead of Der Klassiker.
Bayern and Dortmund are currently separated by goal difference in the Bundesliga points table. Die Roten is third, while Dortmund is fourth. A win on Saturday will help either side to climb up in the table, provided other results in the Bundesliga go in their favour.
Team News
Kingsley Coman is set to feature against Dortmund after recovering from a hamstring injury. The French winger will be coming off the bench on Saturday. Joshua Kimmich has resumed first-team training after recovering from coronavirus. Thomas Muller has been ruled out of Saturday’s game since he is yet to completely recover from covid. Lucas Hernandez and Bouna Sarr are the long-term absentees for Rekordmeister.
Predicted Starting XI
Over the last seven days, Manuel Neuer managed to get two consecutive clean sheets for the first time this season. Bayern skipper will be looking to make three clean sheets in a row for him on Saturday since he is expected to start in the goal against Dortmund.
Matthijs de Ligt and Dayot Upamecano will be playing in the heart of defense on Saturday since Lucas Hernandez is still recovering from an adductor injury. After a difficult international break, de Ligt and Upamecano have been solid for Bayern in the last two weeks. Alphonso Davies and Benjamin Pavard are expected to start in the full-back positions.
Joshua Kimmich will return to the starting XI after missing the game against Plzen due to illness. Marcel Sabitzer did a solid job alongside Kimmich in the win against Leverkusen, but the Austrian midfielder may have to be content with a place on the bench due to Leon Goretzka’s sensational performance against Plzen. Goretzka will be operating in the number eight role, while Kimmich will be playing in the holding midfield position.
Nagelsmann is expected to stick with the same group of players in the attack that started against Plzen on Saturday. Leroy Sane will start on the right flank, while Sadio Mane is likely to be deployed on the left side of the attack. Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala will occupy central positions in the final third. The front four for Die Roten will be fluid, so all forwards will keep swapping places.
"NeuerPavard-Upamecano-de Ligt-DaviesKimmich-GoretzkaSane-Musiala-ManeGnabry"
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Score Prediction
Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Bayern Munich
Bayern is a slight favourite for Der Klassiker since they have won all of their last eight meetings against Dortmund. The victory for Bayern will not be straightforward, but they will do enough to clinch all three points.