The Bundesliga title race has not been this close in over a decade. With nine games to go Der Klassiker could well and truly be the title decider in pursuit of Die Meisterschale.
To Win Match
Bayern Munich 5/10 | Draw 4/1 | Borussia Dortmund 44/10
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich trails Borussia by two points and shockingly chose to switch up the coaching regime before the resumption of the league as well as their biggest league fixture of the season.
Julian Nagelsmann was relieved of his duties, and Thomas Tuchel stepped in to start a new era at the Allianz Arena. Bayern will strive to win the Bundesliga and the Champions League under their new manager, who previously worked for Dortmund, PSG and Chelsea.
The 2-1 derby loss against Bayer Leverkusen before the international break was probably the final straw for Bayern’s higher ups. The title race has never been this close in over a decade when Jurgen Klopp won it with Dortmund back in 2012, and maybe Julian gave the administration flashbacks of more difficult times.
The Bavarians rode a four-game win-streak in all competitions before suffering at the hands of Leverkusen and more impressively have not suffered a failure in their last 17 home games. Bayern scored 13 goals during this winning streak and allowed in just three, posting three clean sheets.
Tuchel has proved he is worthy of managing the upper echelon of football clubs, and Bayern Munich really doesn’t get any higher. His first test will be to dispose of his former club and get Bayern back on top of the Bundesliga table.
Borussia Dortmund
Since domestic football returned from the Qatar World Cup, Borussia Dortmund has avoided losing a Bundesliga game.
Chelsea are the only side to register a win over BVB, when the two met in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge, but Edin Terzic’s team had won 10 consecutive matches across all competitions prior to it.
After that one, Dortmund played to a 2-2 draw against Schalke in the Riverside Derby, indicating that there might be a mild crisis in the team. Yet that wasn’t the case. Dortmund went on to humiliate Cologne 6-1 in their most recent league encounter.
Borussia netted twice on five of their last seven away games, and they have tremendous offensive potential despite the constant injuries to their forwards. The game in Munich will be an essential test to see if Borussia has championship-calibre heart and capabilities.
Verdict: Both Teams to Score (Yes) and Over 2.5 Goals (13/20)
Tuchel is now the new head coach of the Bavarian team, and we are yet to see whether this was a smart move for the champs. The new manager will be without German “star boy” Jamal Musiala, who is a major doubt, while Lucas Hernandez and Manuel Neuer are definitely out.
Dortmund is currently a nursing home with the amount of injuries to the squad, but recent news suggests that there will be a boost of Julian Brandt, Youssoufa Moukoko and Abdoulaye Kamara.
Borussia hosted Bayern in the previous encounter, and we saw a thrilling 2-2 draw. It was an enjoyable affair with lots of action on both ends of the field. There should be no doubts this will be another exciting and efficient meetings between the two German powerhouses.
