German Bundesliga - Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich - Preview & Prediction
By Valdis Pans
With just four points separating the 2nd-placed Borussia Dortmund from the 1st-placed Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, the German Klassiker is set to prove crucial in the race for the league title this year. Kick-off - at 12:30 PM ET on Tuesday, May 26.
Dortmund Wins Sixth In Row
Borussia Dortmund continued to keep pace with the league-leading Bayern Munich, notching their sixth consecutive victory following a 2-0 triumph over Wolfsburg at Volkswagen Arena on Saturday. Left wing-back Raphael Guerreiro banked his third snipe in the last two fixtures after scoring his eighth marker of the season in the first half, with right wing-back Achraf Hakimi turning Jadon Sancho’s pass into a goal 12 minutes from time. BVB have now won nine of their 10 Bundesliga outings in 2020 (W9 L1), sitting four points behind reigning champions Bayern with a W17 D6 L4 record.
Borussia Dortmund is still the only team in the Bundesliga so far this season with three players on double figures for goals, like Sancho, Marco Reus, and Erling Haaland have scored 14, 11 and 10 snipes respectively, with the latter averaging a goal every 69 minutes of play. Goalie Roman Burki, meanwhile, sits 19th in the league with 43 saves in 24 appearances, having notched 10 clean sheets along the way. He allows a goal every 67 minutes on average. BVB is 2nd in most goals scored (74), 7th in most shots taken (13.4 per game), 3rd in ball possession (58.4%), and 2nd in passing accuracy (86.5%).
Bayern Continue To Rule
Reigning champions Bayern Munich became the first team in Bundesliga history to score 80 goals in just 27 games after thrashing Eintracht Frankfurt with a count of 5-2 at Allianz Arena on Saturday. Leon Goretzka, Thomas Muller and Alphonso Davies all got on the scoreboard before the visitors also allowed a 74th-minute own goal, with the league’s top scorer Robert Lewandowski becoming just the second player in Germany’s top tier’s history to net 27 times in as many appearances. Bayern occupies the leading position of Bundesliga with a W19 D4 L4 record, sitting four points ahead of the 2nd-placed Borussia Dortmund.
Averaging a Bundesliga goal every 82 minutes thus far this season, Robert Lewandowski leads Bayern with 27 snipes in 27 appearances. He has banked 16 strikes versus Borussia Dortmund, netting 12 times in his last six Klassiker matches alone. Goalie Manuel Neuer, meanwhile, is 12th in the Bundesliga with 67 saves, having also posted a league-high 11 clean sheets in 27 appearances. He concedes a goal every 87 minutes on average. Bayern is top of Germany’s highest division in goals scored (80), shots on goal (18.7 per game), ball possession (63.1%) and passing accuracy (87.2%).
Prediction
The home team has dominated Der Klassiker lately, with the hosts winning the very last six encounters in all competitions. Borussia Dortmund is W3 D1 L1 versus Bayern in their previous five head-to-head meetings in North Rhine-Westphalia. Still, don’t count the reigning Bundesliga champions out just yet! Even if a victory would prove quite difficult to achieve, Bayern Munich can definitely play out a draw, which in effect would still keep their lead against BVB at the top of Germany’s top tier at four points with six games remaining. Both sides have been dead solid on the defensive end lately, with Dortmund allowing just one snipe in their past six matches, and Bayern conceding just an average of 0.50 markers in their last four. So, don’t expect a goal-fest! Do consider backing Robert Lewandowski for his 28th strike in 28 league appearances this season, though! The towering Pole leads this series with 17 career snipes, having scored 12 goals in his last six Klassiker outings, netting at least twice versus BVB in the last four league encounters.
Best bets:
Draw (+315)
Correct score: 1-1 (+745)
Robert Lewandowski to score anytime (-155)
