Bayern Munich vs. Dortmund: Top Storylines to Watch in Champions League Final

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will look to finish off their dominant seasons with the ultimate win when they do battle in the final of the UEFA Champions League.

Both teams have been simply superb throughout the domestic and European seasons and should provide a great matchup in the final. This year's final, like every other, has a slew of key talking points and storylines to follow.

What are the biggest storylines to watch for when these two German giants square off at Wembley Stadium on May 25? Read on and find out.

The Mario Gotze Effect

Having agreed to a transfer that will see him leave Borussia Dortmund over the summer transfer window for Bayern Munich, the future of Mario Gotze is going to be a much-discussed topic heading into the final. And in terms of actual on-field performances, it will be intriguing to see how his new club try and operate against the midfielder to stop him from working his magic against them.

Gotze is a natural playmaker and has arguably been Dortmund's most creative player this season, a fundamental element of their swift counterattacking play.

Bayern know just how good he is—hence the transfer—but they'll be desperately wanting to make sure that they don't give him any time or space in this one.

If Gotze is firing, then Dortmund will be very tough to beat.

He is great at moving the ball quickly upfield and releasing Robert Lewandowski through on goal. He'll have a slew of great attacking players around him to utilize, and if he can find that space between midfield and defense, then he'll have the former German champions primed for greatness here.

How Key Will the Holding Midfielders Be?

Dortmund's attack starts and ends with the ability of Ilkay Gundogan to dominate the middle of the field, win possession back and spark an attacking raid.

If Gundogan is man-marked—as Bayern did so well with the holding midfielders of Barcelona en route to their incredible victory—Dortmund will struggle, and so it will be intriguing here to see just how much work the Bayern attackers can do in defense to try and shut down Gundogan.

The same goes for Bayern's Luiz Gustavo, although he isn't as key as Gundogan.

If Gustavo is able to pick up the forward runs of both Gotze and Gundogan and shut them out from connecting with the likes of Lewandowski and Marco Reus, then Bayern's defense should feel quite comfortable about their chances here.

Dortmund love to move the ball swiftly on the counterattack, so if the German champions can shut that down, they'll seemingly be very tough to beat.

What Will the Managers Conjure Up for Each Other?

It's going to be one of the more underrated storylines heading into the final, but don't rule out the importance of both Jurgen Klopp and Jupp Heynckes here.

Both are great tacticians who will be looking to get the best out of their players. And since both worked their respective game plans to great effect in the semifinals, the two German managers could again play a very key role in the final.

Of the two, Heynckes is probably the more creative manager and will likely have developed certain plans specifically for this game. Maybe it will be another PowerPoint presentation, or perhaps he'll simply work through their games against Dortmund and allow his players to reflect back on how their rivals were able to achieve such great success against them.

Either way, expect Heynckes to have done his homework for this one.

Having said that, Klopp is a great thinker of the game, and his enigmatic passion has a unique ability to drive his team on to greatness.

These two teams are so evenly matched that whoever wins the tactical and managerial battle, may well end up being crowned European champions because of it.

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