To close off this Saturday’s Bundesliga program – Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund meet for the 133rd time in a title-deciding Der Klassiker. The Bavarians have a comfortable cushion and a bundle of strange things need to happen in order for them to lose the advantage.The hosts know a victory will seal a record-extending 31st Bundesliga title and after winning their last four league games while conceding just once, the stage appears set for them to complete a tenth successive top-flight success. Allianz Arena is set for a thrilling encounter for Germany’s standout fixture.Die Roten are unbeaten in home league action since January (W4, D1) and they’ll expect to end the evening celebrating one way or another. It would be all the sweeter for the home crowd if they can do so against their bitter rivals – also, their record of seven straight home league head-to-head wins, with Bayern scoring 4+ goals in six of those fixtures – instills confidence.’Being second in Bundesliga is not good enough’On a different note, Bayern may not have been anywhere near their best over recent weeks – with the two legs of their shock Champions League exit to Villarreal coming either side of their stumbling over the line at home to struggling Augsburg – but one thing that is an almost guarantee with this club is their ability to turn up on the day against Dortmund. Also, a comfortable 3-0 victory at relegation-threatened Arminia Bielefeld last weekend helps the Bavarians enter Der Klassiker on a brighter note.The three points against Arminia took Julian Nagelsmann’s side nine points clear at the top of the table and has presented them with the ideal opportunity to confirm the retention of their Bundesliga crown against their competitive rivals.𝟕 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝟕 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬 💯Head to head: our most recent games against Dortmund 📊#FCBBVB #MiaSanMia #FCBayern pic.twitter.com/PhbsObIU9t— 🇺🇸 FC Bayern US 🇨🇦 (@FCBayernUS) April 22, 2022 Despite that dire recent record, Dortmund won’t be disheartened ahead of this big clash as they’re in decent form, hammering Wolfsburg 6-1 to make it just one defeat across their last nine competitive fixtures (W5, D3), just about keeping them still in title contention. Despite a host of injuries, that impressive run helped them all but guarantee Champions League football next term.Dortmund will be looking to stop the rot against the Bavarians when they make the trip on Saturday, with a seven-game losing streak in recent years sure to be on their minds.Recent visits to the Allianz Arena have included 5-0 and 6-0 defeats, whilst Dortmund have conceded at least three goals to the league leaders in each of their last five meetings in all competitions. Three years have passed since Bayern were defeated by BVB, and five years since they were downed on home soil against their title challengers.A new trend or an exception: Dortmund snatch one of Bayern’s transfer targetsIf Dortmund can sure up their defence and plug the holes, then they could stand a chance of frustrating their hosts like numerous sides have in recent weeks, and should they manage to achieve an unlikely victory, then their glimmer of hope in the title race could be extended for another week.The roster situation stands much better for the hosts than for the Millionaires. Kingsley Coman and Lucas Hernandez should be available to make their returns for Bayern on Saturday, after missing out on last weekend’s victory at Bielefeld. Leroy Sane may have to settle for a place on the bench once more, whilst Corentin Tolisso and Bouna Sarr will miss the title-deciding clash due to hamstring and knee injuries respectively.It’s gone too far: Bayern coach and his mother received death threats because of one defeatAs for the visitors, a lengthy injury list has hampered Marco Rose’s options available to him for the daunting trip to Munich. Mahmoud Dahoud, Thomas Meunier, Mateu Morey, Marcel Schmelzer, Giovanni Reyna, Steffen Tigges and Axel Witsel are all ruled out, whilst Donyell Malen and Thorgan Hazard are labeled as doubts to further restrict the options available to the away side. First-choice goalkeeper Gregor Kobel has been ruled out due to an ankle injury, and an already wobbly Dortmund defence will remain without former Bayern defender Mats Hummels too.The return to fitness of Raphael Guerreiro is a welcome boost with the full-back set to replace Tom Rothe in the starting eleven, despite the youngster’s impressive debut last week.🎙 Marco Rose:”Bayern can become champions on Saturday and will perform accordingly. We want to prevent that. We played a good game last Saturday, we need that performance at an even higher level and consistently over 90 minutes.” pic.twitter.com/IqPdaa0l3O— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) April 21, 2022 And let’s not forget the stars of both teams. This could be the final Klassiker for Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland with both potentially leaving during the upcoming transfer window. Nobody’s netted more goals in this fixture than the Pole (31) while the Norwegian completed Dortmund’s scoring in the last three league head-to-head encounters.With both sides tending to ignore defensive concerns to focus on an attacking mindset in past meetings, this looks set to be a hugely entertaining game on Saturday.BUNDESLIGA – ROUND 31FridayWolfsburg – Mainz 5-0 (5-0)/Wind 8, 42, Kruse 24 pen, 35, 45+2/Saturday16:30: (1.58) Koln (4.20) Bielefeld (6.50)16:30: (2.50) Eintr.Frankfurt (3.40) Hoffenheim (2.75)16:30: (1.95) Freiburg (3.50) M’ gladbach (3.90)16:30: (8.00) Greuther Furth (5.10) Leverkusen (1.42)16:30: (1.50) RB Leipzig (4.30) Union Berlin (7.75)19:30: (1.45) Bayern (4.70) Dortmund (6.75)Sunday16:30: (2.40) Bochum (3.35) Augsburg (3.20)18:30: (2.90) Hertha (3.30) Stuttgart (2.65)***odds are subject to change***
