Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich: TV channel, live stream, team news & prediction

Borussia Dortmund host Bayern Munich in the marquee fixture of the German footballing calendar on Saturday evening.

Der Klassiker pits the winners of the last 12 Bundesliga titles against one another. The same pair lead the way in the current campaign and are separated by a solitary point ahead of an enticing clash.

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Here’s all you need to know about this weekend’s Topspiel.

When is kick off? Saturday 4 December, 17:30 (GMT)
Where is the match being played? Signal Iduna Park
TV channel/live stream? Sky Sports Football (UK), ESPN+ (US), Sportsnet (Canada)
Highlights? Sky Sports Football/Bundesliga YouTube
Referee? TBC
VAR? TBC

The biggest fitness boost Dortmund could have wished for trotted onto the pitch against Wolfsburg last weekend in the 73rd minute. And within 420 seconds, Erling Haaland was back on a Bundesliga scoresheet.

However, aside from their talismanic striker, Dortmund face the record champions with an injury-riddled squad. Thorgan Hazard is still in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 while Youssoufa Moukoko has been ruled out for the rest of the calendar year with a muscle injury.

Raphael Guerreiro is set to make his return from a muscular complaint but Gio Reyna, despite resuming training, is unlikely to be available this weekend.

Most worryingly of all though are the fitness doubts that loom over Jude Bellingham and his knee. The English prodigy missed his first game of the season last weekend and is a serious doubt for the upcoming clash.

You can read Borussia Dortmund’s predicted lineup here.

From one pivotal midfielder to another, there is little doubt over the involvement (or lack thereof) of Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich after he tested positive for COVID-19. The controversially unvaccinated star will miss the top of the table showdown due to isolation, and might be forced to sit out the midweek match against Barcelona subject to a negative test.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has also been ruled out after contracting the virus. Kimmich’s midfield pivot partner Leon Goretzka is a doubt after missing a training session following an early withdrawal from Saturday’s 1-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld.

Defenders Bouna Sarr (adductor) and Tanguy Kouassi (shoulder) join Marcel Sabitzer (calf) in an increasingly populated treatment room.

You can read Bayern Munich’s predicted lineup here.

It may be the most recognisable Bundesliga matchup to a modern, international audience but Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich don’t boast a rivalry steeped in the same historical dynamics of other derbies around the world, or even elsewhere in Germany.

Nevertheless, the teams have faced each other more than 100 times in the league alone, with Bayern claiming a superior 51 wins to Dortmund’s 26 (29 draws a piece).

The Bavarian behemoths have won the last five Bundesliga meetings between the teams, another victory on Saturday would make it the club’s longest winning run in the fixture’s history.

For all of Bayern’s bucketloads of goals and Dortmund’s porous rearguard, the two sides are – somewhat surprisingly – separated by just one point at the Bundesliga’s summit.

Despite this wafer-thin margin, Bayern have a 90% chance of winning the title compared to Dortmund’s punt of 8% according to FiveThirtyEight‘s predictive model. Such a gaping probabilistic chasm stems from the contrasting underlying numbers of each side.

While Dortmund rank fifth and eighth among Bundesliga sides in terms of expected goals for and against respectively (per FBref), Bayern comfortably create the best chances and limit their opponents to the worst in the division.

Those damning figures offer no certainty over the winner of one 90-minute match – fortunately enough, otherwise what would be the point of watching? – but do certainly lean in Bayern’s favour.

Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Bayern Munich

Source of the article

Author: XenBet