Dortmund could stretch their lead at the top of the Bundesliga by an even greater margin when they host Bayern Munich in the Klassiker on Saturday
Borussia Dortmund will face off against Bayern Munich on Saturday in the Bundesliga, as the two rivals contest the 120th edition of Der Klassiker.
Niko Kovac’s side will, for the first time in a few seasons, head into the fixture as the underdogs with the Yellow Army sitting four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga – unbeaten in the league and having won seven games and drawing three.
Bayern Munich had recovered from a shaky start to the season and completed two back-to-back wins off the tails of two consecutive losses, and Saturday’s tie is sure to be a mouthwatering fixture as Borussia look to challenge the German giants for the Bundesliga title.
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TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on BT Sport 2 and livestreamed on BT Sport Live.
Squads & Team News
Both Marcel Schmelzer and Abdou Diallo will not be involved for BVB as they are long-term injury absentees.
Regular starting goalkeeper Roman Burki is injured, so his backup Marwin Hitz gets the call in goal.
Borussia Dortmund XI: Hitz; Piszczek, Akanji, Zagadou, Hakimi; Witsel, Weigl; Sancho, Gotze, Bruun Larsen; Reus
Thiago is still recovering from a long-term ankle ligament injury, with Kingsley Coman also ruled out.
Both Arjen Robben and Corentin Tolisso are unavailable for the fixture with knee issues.
Bayern Munich XI: Neuer; Kimmich, Boateng, Hummels, Alaba; Martinez, Goretzka; Gnabry, Muller, Ribery; Lewandowski.
Betting & Match Odds
Bayern Munich are priced at odds of winning 3/10 according to bet 365, while a draw is available at 21/10. A win for BVB is priced at 21/10.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Match Preview
Lucien Favre’s Dortmund side will be eager to stretch their lead at the top of the table by even greater distance and to place further problems for Bayern this season.
Both Favre and Kovac will be coaching their first Klassiker matches this Saturday, and the tie will also see the return of former Dortmund striker Lewandowski – who has already scored three times against his old team at the Signal Iduna Park.
BVB have yet to register a loss in the Bundesliga this season, and only registered their first defeat in all competitions to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in midweek. They will be high on confidence heading into the domestic fixture, however, and can expect the likes of Jadon Sancho and Paco Alcacer to step up against the German champions.
The Spanish forward has scored seven goals in five Bundesliga appearances so far this season, while the young Sancho has been having a breakout season with the Yellow Army – and has registered the most assists in the German league (with six).
Bayern Munich were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw against Freiburg last weekend and have fallen short of their usual dominance in the Bundesliga so far this campaign, having drawn and lost two games.
The Bundesliga giants are only four points away from their rivals in the league, however, and had better luck in Europe in the past week – winning 2-0 over AEK Athens courtesy of two second-half goals in three minutes from Javi Martinez and Robert Lewandowski.