Bundesliga: Top Spot at Stake in Saturday’s Klassiker

Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich

Hansi Flick takes his Bundesliga champions to Dortmund for the big match of the weekend in European football, and there’s a nice prize on offer for the winners.

Dortmund vs Bayern is the clash between the league’s top two sides — whether you’re talking about achievements over the past quarter of a century or simply looking at current league form — which sees the two favourites sitting clear of the rest of the pack at the top of the table.

They have won 22 of the last 26 league titles between them. And recently, the Bundesliga 2020 results have gone to plan for both BVB and Die Bayern over the past couple of weeks as they both picked up three wins on the bounce while those around them faltered.

The usual raucous Signal Iduna Park will be eerily quiet on Saturday, but the German Clasico rarely fails to live up to the hype.

With both teams vying for top spot, this one promises to be a belter.

Talking Points

Hummels makes Borussia harder to beat

There has been little doubt over BVB’s attacking qualities in recent seasons but a leaky defence has often cost them in the crucial games.

The latest Bundesliga 2020 betting odds have Lucien Favre’s team at 6.20 to wrestle the title from the grip of Bayern, with the eight-time champions at 1.15. And if the challengers are to push them all the way, they will need a rock-solid defence.

The addition of Mats Hummels might well have done the trick, as the experienced international centre-back has marshalled a back four which has looked much safer in recent weeks – with five cleans sheets in the last six outings.

The Dortmund defence performed admirably in a 0-2 victory away to newly-promoted Bielefeld and Hummels did the business at the other end of the pitch by scoring the two goals, with one assist from right-back Thomas Meunier.

Upfront, Erling Braut Haaland is proving to be every bit the complete striker Favre hoped for when he signed him from Red Bull Salzburg last winter.

The big Norwegian has scored five goals in five appearances this season, adding to the 13 he scored in 15 games in the 2019/20 campaign.

He was the first player in Bundesliga history to score a debut hat-trick from the bench. And with 18 goals from 20 matches, he already has a track record to worry any defence.

Haaland warmed up for this game with a brace against Club Brugge in their Wednesday night Champions League clash and he’s benefiting from the creative flair of Jadon Sancho and this season’s breakout star Gio Reyna – who have made four league assists and three respectively.

 

Lewandowski pushing the boundaries even further

If Haaland is pulling up trees in Dortmund, he will come up against the gold standard of goal scoring on Saturday when he meets Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski.

The Polish legend was virtually unplayable in Bayern’s 5-0 destruction of Eintracht Frankfurt recently by scoring a hat-trick. And on Wednesday night, he became only the fourth player in history to reach 70 Champions League goals.

He’s in exalted company alongside Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Raul. Even at 32 years of age, he isn’t finished yet.

With 10 goals this season already, he’s a good bet to reach the 30-goal mark in the Bundesliga for the fourth time in seven seasons.

But while he was pushed hard by Leipzig’s Timo Werner last season, this time his main contender is Haaland.

For much of the game against Salzburg, Die Bayern were frustrated.

With just over 10 minutes to go, they were locked at 2-2. But goals from Jerome Boateng, Leroy Sane, Robert Lewandowski, and Lucas Hernandez blew the Austrians away.

Hummels and his BVB defensive colleagues will have taken note.

 

History

These two giants of German football have swept up silverware for years, though Bayern have been considerably more prolific.

They ended up winning 30 Bundesligas and 20 DFB Pokals, while BVB have collected eight leagues and four cups.

In terms of league finishes since 1964, Bayern have come out on top 42 times to Dortmund’s nine.

In all competitions, Bayern and Dortmund have met 127 times, with the Bavarians coming out on top 61 times while Die Schwarzgelben have won and drawn 33 each.

It’s traditionally an entertaining affair, yielding 394 goals at an average of 3.10 per game.

Flick’s Bayern have won six of the last seven league Klassikers, scoring 23 goals and conceding five. In fact, the past three meetings have finished 5-0, 4-0, and 1-0 to the champions.

But BVB’s current form is excellent, winning all three home games and five home matches in a row.

Let’s take a look at the SBOTOP odds and make a call on the next chapter in this fantastic fixture.

 

Betting Tip

	Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich	First Half Over 1.50 @ 1.97
	November 08, 01:30 (GMT+8)

Well, Die Bayern are favourites at odds of 1.71 with BVB at 3.98 and the draw at 3.88.

While the hosts have been in great defensive form, I think there will be goals and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple before half time – with one for each side.

A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR () BETS ARE WORTH:
= €20 (Highly confident)	= €10 (CONFIDENT)	= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

 

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