FC Bayern entertain Borussia Dortmund in the next edition of Der Klassiker. The two most successful German teams of recent years face off in the Bundesliga top clash on Saturday evening (follow the action in English from 18.30 CET with our exclusive fcbayern.com live updates).
The situation
Fourth against second: Bayern lost ground when they fell 5-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend. Under new head coach Hansi Flick, the Munich men boosted their confidence when they beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the Champions League. Bayern aim to overtake Borussia and cut the gap to the top on Saturday. Leipzig, lying third, travel to face Hertha Berlin on Saturday at 15.30 CET, with table-toppers Borussia Mönchengladbach entertaining Werder Bremen on Sunday at 13.30.
The opposition
Borussia Dortmund have won all of their last three matches. After a hard-fought 2-1 cup victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach, Dortmund beat Wolfsburg 3-0 in the Bundesliga. On Tuesday Dortmund bounced back against Inter Milan in the Champions League. Lucien Favre's men were two goals down at half-time but won 3-2 at Signal Iduna Park. "Dortmund are finely-honed in attack, they're extremely quick. We must put up a fight. They're in a different class compared to Olympiacos, we must up our game," Flick commented.
Team news
Jérôme Boateng will miss the next two matches after seeing a red card against Eintracht Frankfurt. "Lukas Mai will join the squad for him," Flick revealed on Friday. Besides Boateng, Bayern will be without long-term absentees Niklas Süle (torn cruciate), Lucas Hernández (ankle injury) and Fiete Arp (rehab after scaphoid fracture)
Dortmund will be without defencer Marcel Schmelzer (rehab). Marco Reus (ankle injury), Jadon Sancho (muscle problem) and Marwin Hitz (back problem) are rated doubtful.
What the coaches say
Hansi Flick: "A high-intensity match awaits us, the whole of Germany is looking forward to it. We play at home and want to win. We focused on defence, which was good, but we know we have room for improvement in attack. The players are fired up, we'll give it everything. We have a good blend of a certain ease but also concentration and focus. We know how important the match is."
Lucien Favre: "It's a very special pairing and a very important match. We've struggled on the road over the last five years. We have nothing to lose. We respect Bayern a lot, they're a top team, but we're not afraid."
Top fact
Robert Lewandowski scores at will, and not only this season. The Poland captain has scored an impressive 14 goals in his ten Bundesliga matches against Dortmund. On average our number nine scores every 63 minutes against his ex-club. And on Saturday he has a chance to further boost his hit rate.
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