When first plays fifteenth in the table, the final result mostly favors the top side. The match is rarely a classic as first bulldozes fifteenth rather easily. Yet, this match is being referred to as "Der Klassiker" in Germany. This is because fifteenth in the table is none other than Bayern's biggest rivals, Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern is by no means running away with the Bundesliga; Hoffenheim, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Wolfsburg are only four points behind them. Gladbach even earned a draw against them in the past weekend and could have won the match had a certain Manuel Neuer not been the man standing between the posts.
Bayern will be coming into the match on the back of a win though; in a somewhat careless display, they proved too strong for Josef Zinnbauer's Hamburger SV in the DFB Pokal, beating them 1-3. The first goal in the match, coming from Robert Lewandowski, was gift wrapped by Heiko Westermann. The third, Franck Ribery's strike, took a huge deflection, deceiving Jaroslav Drobny. Overall, Bayern were not really threatened until they were out of sight.
Borussia Dortmund continued their wonderful Cup form by beating St Pauli convincingly. Marco Reus scored in the match as did Shinji Kagawa.
However, whether Dortmund can replicate the kind of form they have shown in the Cup competitions in the Bundesliga is questionable. They have lost no less than six games in the league including last weekend's clash against Hannover 96. Yet, Jürgen Klopp will surely know that his team have the perfect style to trouble Bayern's possession based 3-4-3. Pep Guardiola might revise the formation for this game nonetheless.
The match has more meaning for Dortmund than for Bayern. Defeat will not bother Bayern too much, considering Dortmund's standing in the table. Dortmund, however, with a good result, can reverse their fortunes in the Bundesliga and pick up three much needed points in the process. Both sides have relatively fit squads aside from some long term injuries such as Javier Martinez in Bayern's case.
Will Dortmund be able to compete with Bayern at the Allianz Arena? Interested in learning how you can watch the 2014-15 Bundesliga? Check out our Bundesliga Multi-Platform Broadcast Guide.
Bayern Munich's lineup: Neuer - Alonso, Benatia, Lewandowski, Robben, Boateng, Bernat, Götze, Lahm (K), Müller, Alaba.
Borussia Dortmund's lineup: Weidenfeller - Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels, Durm - Bender, Kehl - Mkhitaryan, Kagawa, Reus - Aubameyang
Bayern Munich's subs: Zingerle, Dante, Ribéry, Shaqiri, Rafinha, Pizarro, Rode.
Borussia Dortmund's subs: Langerak, Subotic, Großkreutz, Ginter, Gündogan, Immobile, Ramos
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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