It’s the biggest game in German club football: Second-placed Borussia Dortmund host table toppers and record champions FC Bayern München on Bundesliga matchday 25 (kick-off: 18:30 CET). Can FCB add to their five-point lead at the top of the standings, or will Dortmund close the gap to two points and reignite the title race? DFB.de has put together the facts ahead the game that’s being anticipated around the world.
Form: The last few weeks have been stressful for both teams, as Dortmund and Bayern are both still active in the DFB Cup and European competition, whilst leading the way in the Bundesliga, which featured a midweek matchday this week. Current form suggests that BVB might have a slight edge, going unbeaten so far in 2016. Dortmund have won their last seven games in all competitions and only dropped points once in their last ten matches - a 0-0 draw at Hertha BSC on matchday 20. Bayern’s recent results are not as impressive, claiming seven wins from their last ten games, which included draws in the league against Leverkusen and in their Champions League first leg at Juventus. Most recently, they suffered their second defeat of the season - a 2-1 home-loss to Mainz 05 during the week. Bayern will certainly attempt to replicate their performance from the return fixture earlier this season, where they claimed a 5-1 victory over Thomas Tuchel’s men thanks to two goals each from World Cup winner Thomas Müller and Lewandowski, with Mario Götze also on target against his former club.
Situation in the standings: In the history of the Bundesliga, there has never been two teams with a better record at this stage of the season than Bayern and Dortmund have right now. Dortmund are the best second-placed team of all time, having closed the gap to five points with their 2-0 win at Darmstadt 98 during the week and profiting from Bayern’s slip-up at home against Mainz. The defeat was Bayern’s first home loss of the campaign and an unexpected misstep in the title-race, making this encounter even more exciting. Fans are looking forward to a dramatic showdown between Germany’s best teams with the title on the line, as a Dortmund victory would see the gap shrink down to just two points with plenty of games left to play. On the other hand, a Bayern victory would open their lead back up to eight points and take them a big step closer to the title.
Record: BVB and Bayern have played each other 93 times in the Bundesliga, with Bayern having the clear upper hand from these encounters. The record champions managed 42 wins compared to Dortmund’s 23 victories, with 28 games ending in a draw. Bayern have claimed victories without conceding a goal in their last two trips to Dortmund.
It’s the biggest game in German club football: Second-placed Borussia Dortmund host table toppers and record champions FC Bayern München on Bundesliga matchday 25 (kick-off: 18:30 CET). Can FCB add to their five-point lead at the top of the standings, or will Dortmund close the gap to two points and reignite the title race? DFB.de has put together the facts ahead the game that’s being anticipated around the world.
Form: The last few weeks have been stressful for both teams, as Dortmund and Bayern are both still active in the DFB Cup and European competition, whilst leading the way in the Bundesliga, which featured a midweek matchday this week. Current form suggests that BVB might have a slight edge, going unbeaten so far in 2016. Dortmund have won their last seven games in all competitions and only dropped points once in their last ten matches - a 0-0 draw at Hertha BSC on matchday 20. Bayern’s recent results are not as impressive, claiming seven wins from their last ten games, which included draws in the league against Leverkusen and in their Champions League first leg at Juventus. Most recently, they suffered their second defeat of the season - a 2-1 home-loss to Mainz 05 during the week. Bayern will certainly attempt to replicate their performance from the return fixture earlier this season, where they claimed a 5-1 victory over Thomas Tuchel’s men thanks to two goals each from World Cup winner Thomas Müller and Lewandowski, with Mario Götze also on target against his former club.
Situation in the standings: In the history of the Bundesliga, there has never been two teams with a better record at this stage of the season than Bayern and Dortmund have right now. Dortmund are the best second-placed team of all time, having closed the gap to five points with their 2-0 win at Darmstadt 98 during the week and profiting from Bayern’s slip-up at home against Mainz. The defeat was Bayern’s first home loss of the campaign and an unexpected misstep in the title-race, making this encounter even more exciting. Fans are looking forward to a dramatic showdown between Germany’s best teams with the title on the line, as a Dortmund victory would see the gap shrink down to just two points with plenty of games left to play. On the other hand, a Bayern victory would open their lead back up to eight points and take them a big step closer to the title.
Record: BVB and Bayern have played each other 93 times in the Bundesliga, with Bayern having the clear upper hand from these encounters. The record champions managed 42 wins compared to Dortmund’s 23 victories, with 28 games ending in a draw. Bayern have claimed victories without conceding a goal in their last two trips to Dortmund.
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Battle of the top strikers: Dortmund against Bayern is not just the German equivalent to the “Clasico” in Spain, but also the encounter between the two best strikers in the Bundesliga. Not only is the championship on the line in this game, but also the golden boot. Robert Lewandowski currently leads with 23 goals, but followed closely by Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is on 22. It’s a special game for the Bayern striker either way, as he returns to his former workplace to face former team mates. In four years at BVB, Lewandowski made 131 appearances and bagged 74 goals. In the 2013/14 season he won his first and so far only golden boot while wearing Borussia colours and he is now looking to repeat this feat at Bayern. Aubameyang will certainly look to prevent that from happening, having scored at least one goal in his last eleven Bundesliga home games. With a goal against Bayern, he could equal a historic record of Gerd Müller and Jupp Heynckes.
Pre-match thoughts: Both teams are well aware of the meaning of this encounter. “We want to bring excitement back into the title fight. It will definitely be tight battle,” explains World Champion and Dortmund skipper Mats Hummels. His DFB team mate Erik Durm added: “We know it and Bayern know it as well - we are back in the title fight if we win on Saturday. We’re looking forward to the game.” The visitors expressed mixed feelings in the build-up to this match. “A number of things went wrong,” said executive chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge after Bayern’s 2-1 home loss to Mainz and warned: “We better not lose in Dortmund as well.” Bayern’s top goalscorer Lewandowski seemed optimistic prior to his return to the Signal-Iduna Park: “I hope that we will continue to have at least a five-point cushion over BVB after the game. The title race will go on until the end of the season and we know that we have to keep pushing.”
Injuries: Bayern have struggled with injuries in their defence for weeks now. Germany international Holger Badstuber, World Champion Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez are still unavailable for Pep Guardiola. In attack on the other hand, the Spaniard is spoilt for choice after the return of Franck Ribery to full fitness. Together with Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski, Bayern boast the most dangerous attack in the league. Dortmund’s Thomas Tuchel was able to rest a number of key players during midweek’s game in Darmstadt and will be able to field his best starting formation, with Sokratis the only notable unavailable player. Germany youth team international Felix Passlack, who made his starting XI debut on Wednesday in Darmstadt, will likely start the game from the bench.
Coaches: BVB coach Thomas Tuchel is looking forward to the encounter: “We want to do everything we can in order to reduce their lead. Our situation going into this game has certainly improved,” he said after their win in Darmstadt and continued: “The ball is in our court now and it’s up to us to take the next step.” FCB’s Pep Guardiola has been warned: “This Dortmund side is a completely different team compared to the past three years.” He expects that Bayern will need to push until the final matchday in order to win their fourth straight title.
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Their last ten encounters
Borussia Dortmund has often been associated as a bogey-opponent to Bayern München in recent years, but their last ten competitive encounters speak a different story with the record champions holding a clear edge over their rivals, claiming six wins while losing three times and recording one draw. One of these wins was a 2-1 victory in the 2013 Champions League final in London. Earlier this season, Pep Guardiola’s men secured a 5-1 victory against BVB, taking revenge for their semi-final exit in last season’s DFB Cup competition.
October 4th 2015: Bayern München - Borussia Dortmund 5-1 (Bundesliga)
April 28th 2015: Bayern München - Borussia Dortmund 1-3 on penalties (Cup semi-final)
April 4th 2015: Borussia Dortmund - Bayern München 0-1 (Bundesliga)
November 1st 2014: Bayern München - Borussia Dortmund 2-1 (Bundesliga)
May 17th 2014: Borussia Dortmund - Bayern München 0-2 AET (Cup final)
April 12th 2014: Bayern München - Borussia Dortmund 0-3 (Bundesliga)
November 23rd 2013: Borussia Dortmund - Bayern München 0-3 (Bundesliga)
July 27th 2013: Borussia Dortmund - Bayern München 4-2 (Supercup)
May 25th 2013: Borussia Dortmund - Bayern München 1-2 (Champions League final)
May 4th 2013: Borussia Dortmund - Bayern München 1-1 (Bundesliga)
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