The rivalry between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich is fast becoming one of the most significant in European football, alongside the Manchester United - Liverpool, the Derby d’Italia and ‘El Clasico’ in terms of its competitive and commercial significance. As such, the first league clash between the two sides since Bayern’s Champions League triumph at Wembley in May will be broadcast in 207 countries, a Bundesliga record.
The match will be Pep Guardiola’s first experience of the rivalry since suffering a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Jurgen Klopp’s steeds in the DFB- Supercup in July, and the studious Spaniard has no doubts about the quality of the opposition, describing his opponents as a “top team” containing player of “extraordinary quality”, a position cemented by ‘Die Schwarzgelben’ lurking just 4 points behind his team at the summit after their best ever start to a Bundesliga season. However, while the hype in the build-up is justified, both sides head into the match with injury worries. Dortmund, already without midfield maestro Ilkay Gundogan, are suffering a defensive injury crisis at the worst possible time, with Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer all likely to be missing for Bayern’s visit, prompting Klopp to make an emergency signing in the form of costless agent and former German international Manuel Friedrich during the International break.
Fortunately for Friedrich, Bayern will be missing arguably their biggest star in the form of Ballon D’Or frontrunner Franck Ribery, after the Frenchman suffered a rib injury in the Stade de France on Monday, with Mario Goetze, sure to face a barrage of abuse from the ‘Yellow Wall’ following his move from Dortmund in the summer, likely to replace him. Bayern will also be without star midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger with an ankle injury, while Claudio Pizarro, Xherdan Shaqiri and Holger Badstuber will also miss out through injury.
The two teams head into this clash with Bayern in much better form than their rivals. While BVB suffered defeats at the hands of Arsenal (0-1) and VfL Wolfsburg (1-2), Bayern coasted to a 1-0 victory over Viktoria Plzen, before disposing of Augsburg 3-0 in the Bavarian Derby a fortnight ago, and despite Dortmund’s home advantage, Munich will be many people’s favourites.
While the build-up to this match has been dominated by injuries and, in contrast to recent matches, a mutual respect between coaches, the significance of this match is not lost on either side. Whether or not it lives up to the Der Klassiker billing, this match could have a decisive bearing on who takes home the Bundesliga shield come May.