BERLIN (AP) — Der Klassiker is in danger of not living up to its name.
The growing gulf between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund means German soccer’s showpiece presents more of an opportunity for Bayern to display its superiority than for Dortmund to mount a genuine challenge to the Bavarian powerhouse.
Dortmund hosts Bayern on Saturday for a meeting of the Bundesliga’s top two, but it’s unlikely to have any impact on the title race. Bayern is already eight points clear and closing in on yet another championship. Bayern has won 12 of the last 13 since Dortmund won back-to-back titles in 2012.
This, despite the fact Dortmund is enjoying its best Bundesliga season since that 2012 title.
Bayern and Dortmund have lost only once in the league. In Dortmund’s case it was to Bayern, 2-1 in the reverse fixture in Munich in October. Bayern was surprised at home by Augsburg last month, when an uncharacteristic wobble (Bayern drew the next game at Hamburger SV ) allowed Dortmund to close the gap to six points. Then Dortmund drew at Leipzig 2-2 last weekend to give Bayern its eight-point cushion with 11 rounds to go.
Bayern has dropped points only four times, with 19 wins from 23 games.
Since Bayern defeated Dortmund 2-1 in the 2013 Champions League final in London, Bayern has won 24 of the teams’ 37 meetings across all competitions. Three of Dortmund’s nine wins from those encounters were in the unimportant German Supercup, and there were four draws.
Key matchups
Der Klassiker will dominate. While Bayern has had a whole week to prepare, Dortmund was in Bergamo, Italy, on Wednesday for a painful Champions League exit to Atalanta.
At the other end of the table, Werder Bremen hosts Heidenheim for a scrap between the bottom two, also on Saturday. Bremen lost to relegation rival St. Pauli last week for its third consecutive defeat under new coach Daniel Thioune and 13th straight without a win. Heidenheim nearly defeated Stuttgart before settling for 3-3. There are five points between the teams.
Eintracht Frankfurt hosts Freiburg on Sunday when the home team will hope to continue its resurgence under new coach Albert Riera.
Players to watch
Bayern star Harry Kane recently celebrated 500 goals for club and country. He has 28 in 23 Bundesliga appearances this season and is scoring at such a rate that Robert Lewandowski’s season record of 41 from 2020-21 is under threat.
Dortmund forward Fabio Silva scored his first league goal for the club in his 17th appearance to rescue the 2-2 draw at Leipzig last week. Saturday would be a good time to score his second.
Who is out?
Bayern wing back Alphonso Davies is out of der Klassiker with a hamstring injury from the win over Frankfurt.
Leipzig, which visits Hamburger SV on Sunday, said it was without midfielder Xaver Schlager for “a few weeks” due to an adductor injury.
Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller’s left knee injury from the draw with Heidenheim last weekend is not as bad as initially feared. It’s unclear if he’ll be fit in time for Sunday’s match against Wolfsburg.
Off the field
Dortmund has warned its fans of traffic chaos around Saturday’s game because of a local transport strike. It continues Dortmund fans’ difficulties getting to a game after police measures forced many to abandon their plans to attend Wednesday’s Champions League match in Italy.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
