Bayern Munich take on Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker on Saturday, with the visitors looking to win their third successive league game to boost their chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League.
Bayern, meanwhile, must at least avoid defeat at the Allianz Arena to ensure they remain top of the table ahead of RB Leipzig.
Match preview
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After dropping five points in two games following their recent return from the Club World Cup in Qatar, Hansi Flick's side's 5-1 win against FC Koln last weekend was a significant one on many levels.
Not only did it ensure that they stayed two points clear of Leipzig, who came from two goals behind to beat Borussia Monchengladbach on the previous day, it also saw Thomas Muller and Serge Gnabry return from illness and injury respectively in the second half to directly contribute to the victory.
Eric Choupo-Moting and Robert Lewandowski had provided the Bavarians with a comfortable two-goal cushion at the half-time interval, but familiar defensive miscommunication allowed Ellyes Skhiri to wander through Bayern's defence and lift the ball over a demonstrably enraged Manuel Neuer.
However, the introduction of Muller and Gnabry from the bench instantly shifted the game back in Bayern's favour, with Muller setting up Lewandowski for his brace before Gnabry scored two late goals of his own. Dortmund, who have lost each of their last four meetings with Bayern, will be concerned that Bayern now have their strongest XI available once again just in time to face them on Saturday.
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With that being said, interim manager Edin Terzic has bounced back from a difficult period to guide Dortmund to four consecutive wins in all competitions.
A crucial Champions League last-16 first leg win at Sevilla and a nervy 1-0 win at Gladbach in the DFB-Pokal quarter-final on Tuesday has sandwiched two comfortable wins-to-nil against fierce rivals Schalke 04 and the struggling Arminia Bielefeld in BVB's last two league games.
Dortmund found it a little tougher than expected to overcome Uwe Neuhaus's side last weekend, though, with a goalless first half coming to life after the break as Mahmoud Dahoud, Jadon Sancho and Reinier Jesus were on hand to help them to a 3-0 win which moved them to within three points of Eintracht Frankfurt, who currently occupy the fourth and final Champions League qualification position.
After a tough first half of the season, Sancho has well and truly come to the party in recent weeks, with his decisive goal against Gladbach on Tuesday the England winger's fifth strike in six domestic games. Terzic will be hoping that form continues at Allianz Arena on Saturday, otherwise his side could find themselves six points off the top four once again.
Bayern Munich Bundesliga form: WWWDLW
Bayern Munich form (all competitions): WWDLWW
Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga form: LWLDWW
Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions): LDWWWW
Team News
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Bayern's availability issues appear to have improved further with Benjamin Pavard back in training after recovering from COVID-19, but Niklas Sule will likely continue at right-back.
Corentin Tolisso, Douglas Costa, Alexander Nubel and Tanguy Nianzou are all out injured for the hosts.
Given their impact against Koln, Flick is likely to throw Gnabry and Muller straight back into the starting XI at the expense of Jamal Musiala and Choupo-Moting.
Dortmund, meanwhile, will travel to Munich without the injured trio of Manuel Akanji, Axel Witsel and Marcel Schmelzer.
Thomas Delaney shook off a fever to start in Monchengladbach in midweek, though, so should start in Terzic's midfield once more, with Emre Can still required in defence alongside Mats Hummels, who will be keen to get one over on his former club.
Sancho and Raphael Guerreiro both came off against Gladbach with ice packs on their legs, so are serious doubts for the game, while Giovanni Reyna is also thought to be struggling with a knock.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Sule, Boateng, Alaba, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sane, Muller, Gnabry; Lewandowski
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Hitz; Morey, Can, Hummels, Schulz; Delaney, Dahoud; Hazard, Brandt, Reus; Haaland
We say: Bayern Munich 3-2 Borussia Dortmund
With several of their first-team players back in the fold, we expect Bayern to continue to have the edge on Dortmund and extend their winning run in Der Klassiker to five matches.
However, with Sancho and Erling Braut Haaland both in superb form in attack for the visitors, goals should certainly flow at both ends as they have typically done in Bayern games all season.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bayern Munich win with a probability of 65.51%. A win for Borussia Dortmund had a probability of 17.6% and a draw had a probability of 16.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayern Munich win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.47%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-1 (7.66%) and 2-0 (6.11%). The likeliest Borussia Dortmund win was 1-2 (4.33%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (6.24%). The actual scoreline of 4-2 was predicted with a 3.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bayern Munich would win this match.
