The Bundesliga title has been and will continue to be a Hail Mary for Borussia Dortmund this season. The writing is very clearly on the wall. Should BVB not be the victor this Saturday: Congratulations to Bayern Munich on their bajillionth Meisterschaft. Even if the Black and Yellows do find a way to claim all the points, the Bavarians will still hold a (for them) comfortable five-point cushion heading into the final ten games. So some might claim that the league has been decided for a while.
But
hey, you can’t say that this Klassiker isn’t coming at the perfect time for Dortmund. Thankfully, the team was able to fortify its cohesion and confidence during the week, with no hiccups whatsoever. They’re playing at home, where the vibes have been nothing but positive and supportive recently, and all of the club’s higher-ups seem 100% commited to the same plan. Things couldn’t be better, really. Sure, Sebastian Kehl is making plans with money he doesn’t have yet, and the form on Ramy Bensebaini’s spinning backheel doesn’t necessarily look polished, but other than that, BVB are flying high!
I have a good feeling that this Klassiker specifically will go down in the history books as a “classic”, as the Topspiel it is always advertised as. Because it’s been too long since that was last the case with this matchup…
Player to Watch: Konrad Laimer
If there is such a thing as an unsung hero in the lederhosen capital of the world, it’s “Koni” Laimer. Under Vincent Kompany, the Austrian has cemented his role as the Swiss Army Knife of the team and brings everything you could wish for from a modern fullback. Expect him to initiate a lot of actions for FCB on Saturday, by bombing through the half-spaces to open up lanes for his teammates and spreading the play as much as possible. Let’s just put it this way: his heatmaps are usually adventurous.
Predicted Lineup:
“Borussen Beckham”, Julian Ryerson, will serve his yellow card suspension, while Mané and Süle remain out. The good news is, Schlotterbeck is back to full strength and ready to roll!
Two major winners off the bench as of late have been Fabio and Carney, in my opinion. Both of them do wonders for our ball progression, and Carney especially looked scintillating as a number eight next to Nmecha against Atalanta. Knowing how Kovac operates, he likely won’t start both, but I’d love to see it.
Match Prediction:
This game won’t be at the Allianz Arena, which I think at least rules out a 4-nil deficit at halftime. But it also takes a lot of imagination to see die Schwarzgelben outscoring the team that has 85 goals on the season. What I won’t accept under any circumstances is the usual “tucking tale until the second half and then trying to play catch-up” tactic. Approach this game in a vacuum and forget about point totals. This weekend is simply about sorting out whatever THAT was on Wednesday.
Borussia Dortmund 2:2 Bayern München
