Bundesliga viewers across the globe will brace themselves for arguably the most important match yet when Borussia Dortmund host Bayern Munich on Tuesday. With the two sides separated by just four points, there could be dire consequences, especially for Dortmund, whose hopes of keeping up with the Bavarians depend on a win, in this Klassiker.
Here is the predicted Borussia Dortmund lineup vs Bayern Munich.
Predicted Borussia Dortmund Lineup vs Bayern Munich
Defence
It was revealed last week that Dan-Axel Zagadou would miss the remainder of the campaign due to injury. The Frenchman was horrific the previous time he played against Bayern Munich. But, his absence is set to be a massive blow for the home side, although Manuel Akanji has done a good job of replacing him, of late.
In fact, the Swiss international enjoyed one of his better games in a Dortmund shirt against Schalke last weekend. He will, therefore, look to continue his excellent run of form alongside Mats Hummels and Lukasz Piszczek in the three-man backline.
While Piszczek is set to be in charge of sweeping the loose balls and keeping check of wide attackers, Hummels is expected to play a crucial role in the build-up. His leadership could be critical as the Black and Yellows look to muster all three points.
In goal, Roman Burki will be aiming for a third consecutive clean sheet, although he wasn’t really tested in the last two matches against Schalke and Wolfsburg.
Midfield
Lucien Favre was given a boost on Friday when he revealed that Emre Can has returned to full fitness. The ex-Liverpool star even featured as a substitute against VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday. And we can expect him to replace Mahmoud Dahoud in the Dortmund midfield this week. The German will likely form the double-pivot, alongside Thomas Delaney.
Given the aggressive nature of these two individuals, it will be interesting to see how Bayern Munich cope with them in midfield this week.
Elsewhere, Raphael Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi are guaranteed starters in the wing-back slots. They were the scorers in the 2-0 win over Wolfsburg in the last game and are in sublime form heading into this fixture.
Attack
Marco Reus has been ruled out for the Bayern Munich clash and perhaps even for the rest of the campaign. However, Giovanni Reyna is back in contention as he also featured as a sub in the last game.
Jadon Sancho was rested against Wolfsburg and should return to the frame, at the likely expense of Thorgan Hazard. He will form the Dortmund offensive line alongside Erling Haaland and Julian Brandt.
