26′ Dortmund go straight down the other end and really should forge an opportunity, with Brandt first failing to find an angle and then seeing the same fate befall Dahoud on the left corner of the area.
25′ Magnificent defending again from Piszczek! He lunges in to steal the ball off Lewandowski’s toe as his former team-mate looks to be winding up a 25-yard shot.
24′ Bayern win a corner as the ball deflects behind off Guerreiro. The wing-back is then the man carrying the ball clear as Dortmund deal well with the set-piece, yet BVB fail to make the most of their superior numbers in attack.
23′ SAVE! Burki keeps Coman out! Bayern move the ball with such speed after Davies takes down a long ball on the left. Muller feeds Coman, and the winger shoots hard but straight at the goalkeeper. An awkward parry just evades Muller.
22′ Davies is so incredibly quick! He has had a couple of really loose touches so far, but each time he has been the man to make amends and win the ball back. Hazard fails rather spectacularly to outrun the wing-back.
19′ OFF THE LINE! What a clearance! Bayern almost have the lead! Coman’s low cross from the right finds Gnabry completely unmarked in the centre. His shot beats Burki, but Piszczek recovers to clear and get the ball away from the lurking Lewandowski.
18′ Back come Bayern after Hazard gives the ball away. Muller crosses low to the near post as Lewandowski moves towards the far, allowing Hummels to sweep clear.
17′ A slack touch from Davies gives the ball to Hazard, who gets beyond Alaba. Davies is quick enough to get back and close down the route to goal, however, and Dortmund have to build again.
16′ Bayern have just wrestled back some control. The pattern of play is now perhaps more like many would have predicted it to be. Dortmund are playing on the counter.
14′ Dortmund miss a big chance to counter! Delaney is the man furthest forward in attack, yet he has Haaland running right and Dahoud moving left. The pass to the latter is too heavy, though.
13′ YELLOW: The first booking goes to Hummels, who takes down Coman.
12′ There is a magnificent tempo to this game, with the ball moving quickly from one end to the other. The empty stands have not impacted the players for this crucial contest.
11′ A first nervy moment for Burki! Kimmich lofts in a beautiful ball that drifts just over Muller’s head. Muller was stood in front of the goalkeeper, who collected but would have been stranded had the striker got a touch.
10′ OFFSIDE! Dortmund have the ball in the net, but it won’t count. A wonderful move creates space for Hazard down the right, with Davies dragged out of position, and he picks out Haaland. A low shot is blocked by Alaba, as is Hakimi’s follow-up, but the ball spins back to Hazard. Hazard is offside, however, as he centres for Hakimi to head in.
10′ Bayern are the team playing on the counter at the moment. Lewandowski races onto a long ball but drags a tame shot into Burki’s arms.
8′ Bayern had some issues with set-pieces against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, but the first corner is diverted clear at the near post.
7′ Davies shows his incredible athleticism to get back and tackle Haaland on the right, although he concedes a corner.
6′ Dortmund have had 64 per cent of possession in the first six minutes. They are well on top already.
5′ Lewandowski is predictably involved as Bayern come forward for the first time. The striker bursts into the area but is stopped not once but twice by Akanji, who was excellent at Wolfsburg on Saturday.
4′ Neuer holds on! A glorious switch gets Guerreiro in behind on the left, and he cuts a pass back into Brandt’s path. Haaland is in the centre, but Brandt goes for an ambitious 20-yard curler and picks out only the goalkeeper.
3′ This is a really confident start from Dortmund. They are pinging the passes around, with Bayern struggling to get a touch in the opening minutes.
2′ There is a particularly tasty tussle in store on Dortmund’s right flank, even without Sancho, as Hakimi goes up against Davies. The BVB man gets the better of the first battle, with Alaba required to intervene.
1′ OFF THE LINE! What a start! Dortmund are straight on the attack! Neuer races from his goal to beat Hazard to a ball in behind, but Haaland pounces. From the edge of the area, the young striker nutmegs Neuer with pinpoint accuracy, only to find his slowing strike stopped on the line by Boateng.
1′ KICK-OFF: We are under way in Dortmund!
BVB have lost five of their past six Bundesliga meetings with Bayern, yet they have won two in a row at home in all competitions. Only between 1967 and 1969, in their first three match-ups in Dortmund, have today’s hosts won three on the bounce at home against Bayern.
There is mixed news on the fitness front for Dortmund. Hummels hobbled off on Saturday but is able to start against his former club. However, Sancho and Witsel only make the bench, alongside Can, who replaced Hummels last time out. Bayern’s most notable absence was already confirmed: Thiago Alcantara is out. Goretzka is set to instead take up that deep midfield role, with the in-form Muller further forward.
Subs: Sven Ulreich, Alvaro Odriozola, Javi Martinez, Mickael Cuisance, Ivan Perisic, Lucas Hernandez, Lars Lukas Mai, Oliver Batista-Meier. Joshua Zirkzee.
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Manuel Neuer; Benjamin Pavard, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, Alphonso Davies; Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka; Kingsley Coman, Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry; Robert Lewandowski.
Subs: Marwin Hitz, Jadon Sancho, Mario Gotze, Leonardo Balerdi, Mateu Morey, Emre Can, Axel Witsel, Marcel Schmelzer, Gio Reyna.
Borussia Dortmund (3-4-3): Roman Burki; Lukasz Piszczek, Mats Hummels, Manuel Akanji; Achraf Hakimi, Thomas Delaney, Mahmoud Dahoud, Raphael Guerreiro; Thorgan Hazard, Erling Haaland, Julian Brandt.
Let’s get the team news ahead of this mammoth match…
Bayern, who have won seven championships in a row, were 4-0 winners when these teams met in Bavaria earlier in the campaign. However, Dortmund coach Lucien Favre this week claimed his side had been transformed since that game, aided by a successful January transfer window. They will now be out for revenge.
The latest episode of Germany’s biggest domestic fixture could have a huge bearing on this season’s Bundesliga title. Bayern are four points clear at the top, but BVB are in top form and will back themselves to deliver a home victory – even if Signal Iduna Park’s famous Yellow Wall stands empty.
Hello and welcome to our live text commentary of Der Klassiker between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich!
M. Hummels
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