This starting position has not existed since 2009, but BVB against Bayern is also the highlight of “Soccer Germany” as a “hunter” duel. Müller is missing this time. The focus is on a duel between young formative stars.
Munich – This German classic is a rarity, not just because Thomas Müller is missing. For the first time in over a decade, FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund are not in the top 2 in the explosive showdown between the two industry giants.
But the highlight of the Bundesliga remains the ever-heated duel between Monaco and returnee Joshua Kimmich with BVB, who is without Marco Reus.
Goretzka: “Now we are the hunters”
“This is the game that German football looks forward to all year,” said national team player Leon Goretzka, who has a particularly emotional connection as a former Schalke player. “Now we are the hunters. But it’s like the previous derby. The situation in the standings didn’t matter much. It’s about prestige and supremacy in German football.”
The winner of Saturday’s classic (6:30 pm / Sky) is enthroned at the top of the leaderboard for at least one night before Union Berlin and SC Freiburg can pass again. “It’s an important game in terms of the table, and it’s an important game as a sign,” Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann said Friday when he announced Müller’s departure due to his remaining symptoms of illness following an infection. from corona. Nagelsmann played poker when Kimmich, also cleared, played. The form in which the intervention of the head midfield makes sense must be examined carefully.
BVB has yet to do without Captain Reus, but leader Mats Hummels is back. With number 1 Gregor Kobel there is hope for a match of the game in which the table leader has always played. This time it’s different.
On 12 September 2009, when last-placed Monaco won 5-1 at 12th Dortmund and neither of the two Champions League greats finished in the top 2 in the classic, a 19-year-old named Thomas Müller celebrated his first two. seasons in the Bundesliga. The new generation of future world stars like Bayern magician Jamal Musiala (19) or Dortmund manager Jude Bellingham (19) stood somewhere on the threshold between kindergarten and elementary school.
Nagelsmann is thrilled with Musiala and Bellingham
“We can all enjoy the fact that these top-tier young talents play in the Bundesliga,” said Nagelsmann of Musiala and Bellingham. “I suppose they will both continue to hold the key roles they are currently holding throughout the season and which are also of great importance to their national teams.” The two recently met in the 3-3 draw between Germany and England.
“Jude is playing a very consistent season,” said BVB coach Edin Terzic. “It is important that he keep his emotions in check.” The midfielder didn’t have it in December 2021 after a 2: 3 when he railed against then-referee Felix Zwayer. In Signal Iduna Park, where there is an unprecedented media rush with journalists from all continents and over 20 TV stations, referee Deniz Aytekin is also in the spotlight.
Hamann: “Musiala player of the century”
All the stars want to shine. Sky expert Dietmar Hamann describes Musiala as a “player of the century”, national record player Lothar Matthäus expects both big accolades. “If they continue to perform like this, they will at least be nominated for the next Ballon d’Or election,” said the Sky expert. The two 19-year-olds are definitely formative figures this season.
But they both couldn’t stop their teams from looking changeable this season. Neither rivals have been able to take advantage of the other’s weak phase, so success in a head-to-head duel is even more important. “Now everyone can show what they are made of,” said Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic. Borussia was also hot. “We are extremely excited about FC Bayern,” said international player Julian Brandt.
After Monaco’s 5-0 full-point Champions League victories over Viktoria Pilsen and Dortmund’s 4-1 in Seville, both top teams want to play their first direct duel without Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland, who have drifted apart . Although Bayern have already scored 23 goals in eight league games this season, it remains to be seen how sustainable the new attacking concept is with classic rookie Sadio Mané and Leroy Sané, outstanding against Pilsen. Serge Gnabry is expected to appear again for Müller.
The Dortmund offensive is not active
BVB are doing much harder than Monaco after Lewandowski in the post-Haaland season with just eleven goals. Anthony Modeste was not convincing, the jewel of the storm Youssoufa Moukoko (17) is now even more in the spotlight. Scoreless in the Bundesliga, Karim Adeyemi, once courted by Bayern, celebrated his first BVB Champions League goal. “There is nothing better when they both score,” said Terzic.
The protagonist Bellingham, maximum duel of the Bundesliga, asks the BVB a performance similar to that of Spain. “If we play as we did in Seville, we have a good chance of winning on Saturday,” said the BVB leader. At the age of 19, he has led Borussia twice as captain, representing Reus.
Bellingham leads the BVB, on the other side Musiala delights in grappling and dribbling. “We have to maintain the same performance for several matches,” warned Musiala as Monaco’s top scorer and top scorer.
