Online: Bayern Munich vs Dortmund live 2011

This week the Bundesliga sees a big clash between the two best teams in Germany, as table toppers Borussia Dortmund travel to the Allianz Arena to battle 3rd place Bayern Munich.

Bayern come into this game on an impressive high, following wins over Hoffenheim and Mainz in the league they picked up a huge win in the Champions League beating Inter Milan via a 90th minute goal bay Mario Gomez that gives the Bavarian giants an advantage in the tie. With the Bundesliga shield pretty much out of reach this team is playing for a Champions League place next season, and they have turned it on at the right time as with the return on Dutch playmaker Arjen Robben they have been scoring freely. Since his return from injury Robben has scored 4 goals and provided 3 assists (in all competitions), and he’s made players like the aforementioned Mario Gomez as well as Frank Ribery and Thomas Muller play at a higher level. The one aspect of this team that comes into question is their defense; the central defender roles have been a big game of “musical chairs” with the best combination still having some issues. The two that coach Louis Van Gaal have settled on has been Anatoily Tymoschuk and Holger Badstuber, while this is an unusual partnership with Tymoschuk being a central midfielder by trade and Badstuber a left back moving to central defense (due to among other things the rise of fellow left back Diego Contento) it has managed to work out marginally well. Confidence will be high after a big win at the San Siro, it will be interesting to see if it can carry over to this match.

As for Dortmund, they come into this match a bit fresher due to not having to deal with midweek European fixtures. However, in recent results where they have dropped points they haven’t been the juggernaut they have been all year, but with an double digit lead in the table there is bound to be some complacency. Another problem that Borussia Dortmund are facing is with injuries, already without breakout player Shinji Kagawa for the remainder of the season there are now questions over Goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, who is suffering from a swollen knee. Coach Jurgen Klopp has a stable of young stars and he’s looking to build some long-term success, Marcel Schmelzer, Mario Gotze and Mats Hummels are all signed to (in Hummels case expected to sign) long-term contracts. This will be an interesting game for Mats Hummels as he came up in the Bayern youth system, he was then was loaned out and eventually sold to Dortmund. His motivation will be high and he’ll want to prove that Bayern made the wrong decision.

This is a huge game for the neutral, and even though there aren’t really any title implications it’s still a big encounter. I lean toward Bayern in this one as Dortmund are just losing focus a little bit, this is understandable when a team has had a double digit lead in the standings week in and week out.

Bayern Munich vs Dortmund live 2011

No comments: