It’s served and could hardly be more explosive. On this Saturday evening, FC Bayern welcomes table leaders Borussia Dortmund in the top game. After the change of coach at Munich, Thomas Tuchel also meets his former club. What the starting formations could look like, what the trend says and who is in charge of the game – here is an overview.
Will Thomas Tuchel (right) win against his former club or will Edin Terzic’s team remain top of the table?
IMAGO/Sven Simon
The game will be broadcast in more than 200 FIFA member countries, twelve international TV stations will be there with their own teams, and 32 cameras will be used, more than ever before. That says everything about the importance of this game and the highly exciting constellation.
What’s the trend saying?
Borussia Dortmund have an impressive record in the league this year 2023. Nine wins and draws (2:2 against Schalke) have resulted so far. While Bayern stumbled badly. The record champions have only won five of their ten Bundesliga games since the winter break – two defeats, three draws. Since then, the record champions have lost a total of ten points to BVB.
What is the starting position?
After the last match day, when Borussia won 6-1 against Cologne and Bayern lost 2-1 in Leverkusen, Dortmund took the lead in the table and had a one-point lead. Which led to a change of coach in Munich. The last time FCB was no longer in first place on matchday 25 was in 2012 – and Dortmund became champions. The people of Munich have been warned accordingly.
Who is leading the game?
MarcoFritz. The 45-year-old bank clerk from Korb near Stuttgart will be supported by his colleagues Dominik Schaal and Marcel Pelgrim on Saturday evening. Fourth official is Frank Willenborg, video assistant will be Benjamin Brand. Fritz is leading this duel for the fifth time. Three times in the league, each time in the Allianz Arena – Bayern won all games. Just like the cup final in 2016. In that final, his performance was poor (kicker grade: 4.5): Among other things, he did not show Franck Ribery the red card despite an assault on Gonzalo Castro.
What could the starting formations look like?
At Bayern, the question arises as to what Thomas Tuchel will bet on. Chain of three or four? Logically, he didn’t want to reveal anything about this at the press conference. One possibility would be: Sommer – Cancelo, Pavard, de Ligt, Davies – Kimmich, Goretzka – Sané, Müller, Coman – Choupo-Moting. Jamal Musiala was able to return to training with the side after tearing a hamstring on Friday and is obviously an option for the starting XI, although Bayern will take little risk ahead of their Champions League quarter-finals tie against Manchester City.
At BVB, some players are still questionable, a variant could look like this: Kobel – Wolf, Süle, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson – Can – Bellingham, Guerreiro – Brandt, Reus – Haller. Salih Özcan would be an option in midfield. Nico Schlotterbeck and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are injured, behind their appearances, so coach Edin Terzic said there is still a “question mark”.
What does the change of coach in Munich mean?
The new coach Tuchel didn’t have much time this week to work with the team. He was only able to complete the Friday session, i.e. the final training session, and the sweating session this Saturday with all the pros. The 49-year-old used the past few days for many conversations to develop a feeling for each other. The opinions of captains Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller were particularly important to Tuchel.
How do Dortmund see their chances?
Sports director Sebastian Kehl did not want to overestimate the change of coach in Munich: “I don’t know if Bayern will be better with Thomas Tuchel than before under Julian Nagelsmann. I don’t think the coaching staff will necessarily affect this game that much.” The view goes anyway to their own club. “We’re going to Munich to win,” said Emre Can, for example: “It’s going to be difficult, but we believe in ourselves.”
What does the data say?
The last eight results between the two teams in the Allianz Arena were: 3:1, 4:2, 4:0, 5:0, 6:0, 4:1, 5:1, 2:1 – that’s eight Bayern wins a goal difference of 33:6. BVB traveled to Munich six times as table leaders, Borussia could only win once as leader (2010/11). However, Dortmund have already had nine wins in Munich in Bundesliga history – only 1. FC Köln have had as many away wins at FCB.
