Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
Bayern Munich face Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal final on Saturday in Berlin's Olympiastadion.
It's the inevitable conclusion of a 2015/16 season these two teams dominated and a final showdown between fierce rivals. The departure of Pep Guardiola to Manchester City in the summer adds fuel to the fire, as spoiling his going-away party would make winning the cup that much sweeter for the Black and Yellows.
Bayern are record winners, having hoisted the DFB-Pokal 17 times, including eight wins since the turn of the millennium. Losing only three finals, the Bavarians are veritable experts in the cup. Their way to the final went through fifth division side Nottingen, last season's winners Wolfsburg, Darmstadt, second division side Bochum and Werder Bremen in the semi-finals.
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Scoring 12 and conceding only two goals in the five games, Bayern were always likely to make it to the final in Berlin, although it took a Xabi Alonso wondergoal against Darmstadt and an Arturo Vidal dive helped against Bremen.
Saturday's match will be Dortmund's third straight cup final, an accomplishment in and of itself for a club that once was notorious for embarrassing losses against lower division teams in the DFB-Pokal. The Black and Yellows have won three of their seven previous finals, with the last win coming in 2012 against, of course, Bayern.
The Ruhr side have looked every bit as impressive as Bayern in the previous rounds, beating third division side Chemnitz, 2. Bundesliga team Paderborn, Augsburg and Stuttgart by a combined scoreline of 14-2 before wiping the floor with Hertha BSC in a 3-0 win in the Olympiastion in the semi-finals.
It will be the ninth meeting in the cup between the two sides—it's the fifth year in a row they clash—with Bayern holding the edge with five wins. Dortmund won the last meeting in the cup in last season's semi-finals, where they beat the Bavarians in Allianz Arena 2-0 on penalties.
It's also the fourth final between these teams in the last nine years, with Bayern beating Dortmund in 2008 and 2014.
Date: Saturday, May 21
Time: 7 p.m. BST/2 p.m. ET/8 p.m. local time
Venue: Olympiastadion, Berlin
TV Info: BT Sport Europe (UK only)/ESPN Deportes (U.S. only)
Live Stream: BT Sport live streaming (UK only)/Watch ESPN (U.S. only)
Form Guide
| Bayern | Dortmund |
| Atletico: Loss (1-0) | Hertha: Win (3-0) |
| Monchengladbach: Draw (1-1) | Stuttgart: Win (3-0) |
| Atletico: Win (2-1) | Wolfsburg: Win (5-1) |
| Ingolstadt: Win (2-1) | Frankfurt: Loss (1-0) |
| Hannover: Win (3-1) | Cologne: Draw (2-2) |
Predicted Lineups
Bayern
Javi Martinez and Xabi Alonso have recovered from minor injuries in time to make the trip to Berlin, per the club's official website, leaving long-term casualties Holger Badstuber and Arjen Robben as the lone absentees.
Robben's loss shouldn't be understated, seeing as he scored winning goals against Dortmund in 2013's UEFA Champions League final and the 2014 cup final.
With almost the entire team available, Guardiola has a plethora of options. Does he go for three or four players at the back? Joshua Kimmich, who played an excellent game in the second league meeting this season, could get the nod over Medhi Benatia in central defence either way.
Predicted Starting XI: Neuer; Lahm, Benatia, Boateng, Alaba; Xabi Alonso; Douglas Costa, Muller, Vidal, Ribery; Lewandowski.
Dortmund
Marco Reus missed the first training session of the week with a cold but has already returned to the team in full capacity. Shinji Kagawa only did individual work on Thursday but should be good to go for the final, per a report from Stephan Schauble for German broadcaster Sky.
Defenders Neven Subotic and Joo-Ho Park as well as midfield maestro Ilkay Gundogan will miss the game with various injuries.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel could opt to go with a five-man defence, as he did in the goalless draw between the two sides early in March, but that seems unlikely given Erik Durm's lack of form—and playing time—in recent weeks. The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner had played an important role as the right-wing-back in that game.
The biggest question is who'll get the spot next to Mats Hummels in central defence: Sven Bender might have picked a bad time to have a disappointing game against Cologne on the final Bundesliga matchday, with Sokratis Papastathopoulos looking far more convincing.
Predicted Starting XI: Burki; Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels, Schmelzer; Castro, Weigl, Kagawa; Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Reus.
Players to Watch
The eyes of the entire nation will be on Bayern-bound Hummels. While there shouldn't be any doubt about his commitment to Dortmund's cause on Saturday, it'd only be natural for him to show some nerves during the game.
Future team-mate Manuel Neuer told German sport magazine Sport Bild (via FourFourTwo) that he "cannot imagine Mats will be thinking about Bayern during the Pokal final," adding he thinks "he will give everything. From my own experience I can say that the noise from the stands is irrelevant. What matters is what happens on the pitch."
Hummels' every move will be under a magnifying glass on Saturday, and the skipper, who told Sky after the Cologne match that he looks forward to the challenge but wasn't sure whether he'd take a penalty in a possible shootout, wouldn't be the first to crumble under that pressure.
Dortmund fans are only so enraged about his transfer to Bayern because he isn't the first to leave the Westfalenstadion for Bavaria. One player who's made that jump successfully is Robert Lewandowski, who could be Bayern's key man for the match.
The Pole, winning the Bundesliga's golden boot with 30 goals this season, has scored five times in six meetings with his former club, including a brace in a 5-1 thrashing in October. Arguably Bayern's player of the season—he tops Bleacher Report's Clark Whitney's power ranking for the season—keeping him quiet would be a massive step towards success for Dortmund. It's easier said than done.
Key Battles
Julian Weigl and Gonzalo Castro vs. Xabi Alonso and Arturo Vidal
While Dortmund will be happy they won't have to dominate the game as they did against Frankfurt and Cologne, they can't allow Bayern to boss the middle of the park. When the Bavarians have too much control over the game, it's only a matter of time before they suffocate their opponent and convert one of their inevitable scoring opportunities.
With Gundogan out of the game, Julian Weigl and Gonzalo Castro will need to have an almost-perfect day against Arturo Vidal's aggression and Xabi Alonso's intelligence.
No occasion has been too big for 20-year-old Weigl thus far, and a good performance in the biggest game of his career could also help him stick when national coach Joachim Low cuts down his preliminary 27-men squad for the UEFA European Championships.
Can Dortmund Convert Their Chances?
The Black and Yellows have lost their last three finals: twice against Bayern and last year against Wolfsburg. A common thread in those games was a good start from Dortmund but a lack of goals to show for it.
They did go in front against Wolfsburg after only five minutes, but Marco Reus missed a golden opportunity to double their lead before the Wolves turned the game around.
The Ruhr side were also the better team for the first 30 or so minutes in the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley Stadium but didn't get past Neuer in Bayern's goal. In the 2014 cup final, Hummels did find the net, but his goal wasn't given—which led to the introduction of goal-line technology in German football.
Clear underdogs on Saturday, Dortmund only have a chance against Bayern if they're clinical in front of goal right from the start.
Odds (via Oddschecker)
Bayern: 11-10
Draw: 45-17
Dortmund: 23-8
Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
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