Borussia Dortmund head to the Allianz Arena tomorrow in hopes of reaching their second consecutive DFB-Pokal final and to exact their revenge on rivals Bayern München after they defeated them 2-0 in extra time in last year's final.
Bayern look to move one step closer to a domestic double after clinching their 25th Bundesliga title after Wolfsburg's 1-0 loss to Borussia Mochengladbach on Sunday. The hosts still have a chance to clinch an elusive treble as they are currently in the UEFA Champions League semifinals against FC Barcelona.
In last year's final, it was a hotly contested affair between these two rivals as Bayern München racked up five yellow cards. Each team had their opportunities in normal time, but extra time was written all over this one. Dortmund were hoping they could give Robert Lewandowski the proper sendoff before his move to Bayern Munich in the summer. However, it was not meant to be as Arjen Robben's goal in 108th minute, and Thomas Muller's dagger in the 124th minute gave the FIFA Club World Cup holders a domestic double.
These two teams met earlier this month at the Signal Iduna Park, and it was the ex-Dortmund man, Robert Lewandowski scoring the winner. Bayern escaped in their quarterfinal affair against Bayer Leverkusen winning it in penalties. There was a controversial call during second half stoppage time, as Thiago Alcantara hit Stefan Kießling in the face with a high cleat but was not sent off. The match went into penalties, and Bayern got off to a dream start with Josep Drmic missing a penalty. Every other penalty was made after that, and it was Thiago who sent Bayern into the finals sending the home fans into madness since he should have been sent off earlier.
Borussia Dortmund had a thrilling affair (highlights below) of their own against 1899 Hoffenheim winning 3-2 in extra time. Neven Subotic for and Kevin Volland for Hoffenheim scored two minutes apart to make it 1-1. Roberto Firmino scored just before the half-hour mark, but it was canceled out by a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goal. The winner was scored by Sebastian Kehl on a phenomenal volley.
This should be another thrilling affair between both teams as this is Dortmund's only chance at a trophy this season, but Bayern are on the verge of what could be their second treble in three years. A predicted lineup (below) was put out there by Borussia Dortmund's official Facebook page, and it looks like Dortmund are going to with the not-so-often used 4-3-2-1 while Bayern Munich are going with a 4-1-2-1-2 with Muller and Lewandowski at striker.