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Could they hold a key edge?
The injury and Covid absences could give the other team an edge in the middle of the field. (1:17)
6:30 PM
Over the course of a long soccer season, derbies, rivalry matches and clasicos are useful mile markers. They give us an excuse to check in on two key teams, see how everything is going and see what has happened since the last time they met. Let's do some checking in, because the Bundesliga's Der Klassiker will resume on Saturday in Dortmund.
Since the last time these German giants met, what has happened? I spoke with Philipp Lahm, the German national team captain, to answer the question.
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The teams are separated by a single point.
The head-to-head series has been won by BVB six straight times, but both teams have battled injuries. Erling Haaland, the star of the team, has been missing for six Bundesliga matches and three of the European matches with an injury. Left-back Raphael Guerreiro, winger Gio Reyna, bicyle Emre Can, and attackingMidfielder Thorgan Hazard are just a few of the core players who have missed time as well.
Marco Rose, the first-year manager, has barely had time to field his full lineup in practice. We don't yet have a clear vision of what Rose wants to do. "He's had a lot of injuries to deal with, and it's not good," Lahm said. It hasn't always worked well, for that reason. He needs healthy players for the right system to work for him.
BVB's issues mostly snuck up on them in the competition, where they began with two wins, but lost three straight matches by a combined 10-2 and were sent to the knockout rounds. Even with a diminished lineup, they've still managed to win key league games, most recently in Wolfsburg last Saturday.
The club's issues haven't made a difference to their status in the competition, as they have won all five of their group stage matches by a combined 19-3. They were eliminated from the DFB-Pokal after a loss to Monchengladbach.
The new manager has had to juggle his lineups because he missed a couple of matches due to a positive coronaviruses test.
Joshua Kimmich missed time due to a positive coronaviruses test and is out for Saturday's match. Benjamin Pavard missed the first month of the season with an ankle injury, Corentin Tolisso missed the next month with a calf issue, and now summer acquisition Marcel Sabitzer has suffered a calf injury. Leon Goretzka and Tolisso are both available for the game against BVB, but they might not have the same advantage.
Despite a couple of recent stumbles, Robert Lewandowski and the rest of the team are in great shape.
The two teams are separated by just one point in the table, and nobody else is within six points of the lead. The league has produced some pleasant surprises, but it's easy to see this as a two-team race.
Lahm said that some teams have surprised him. If not for recent one-goal losses to Bochum and the other teams, they could be higher in the table. They've been doing a great job so far. I believe that the title will be decided between the two teams. I think that the end will be a case of a Bayern-Dortmund thing.
A winner on Saturday will advance to Matchday 15.
Good fortune has offset BVB's poor luck.
Rose's side are scoring 2.5 goals per match and allowing 1.5, but they are overshooting their goal figures by more than expected. Haaland has scored 10 league goals on 7.1 xG in just 557 minutes, which is the equivalent of 6 full matches. The defense is ninth in the league in goals allowed and sixth in shots allowed per possession, but they are 11th in xG allowed and 16th in xG allowed per shot.
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Thursday, December. 2
Huracan Melilla is playing Levante. The time is later.
The Guijuelo vs. Vallecano game will be played on Friday. The time is later.
The Utrillas are playing Valencia. The time is later.
There is a match between Amsterdam and Willem II on 2.50 p.m. The time is later.
Villa de Fortuna is playing Cadiz. The time is later.
Rose's style is to control the ball, but the juggled middle has left them vulnerable to attacks.
BVB have been a different team with and without Haaland. "He is an important player for the team, for the other players, and for the team as a whole," Lahm said, "not just in terms of his football skill, but also in terms of his attitude, what he does for the team, what he does for the other
They have averaged 2.6 points per game and 3.3 goals with 1.9 goals allowed when Haaland is in the lineup. Without him, they're more conservative, scoring 1.7 goals but allowing just 1.0 and still scoring 2.0 points per game.
Play.
Don Hutchinson and Jan Age Fjortoft think Robert Lewandowski should have won the men's Ballon d'Or.
Donyell Malen's recent play has to be encouraging because of the impact of the Norwegian strikers presence. The 22-year old, who arrived from PSV Eindhoven in July, has only scored twice in league action, but he has two goals in his last two matches. His shot volume has increased.
Lahm said that things take their time since he's joined a new club. He's a player of excellent skills and you need to give him some time to work on his game. Things take time.
It'll be interesting to see how Malen fits into Rose's plan with Haaland back to full strength, as he gave BVB a lead they wouldn't relinquish with a 23 yard firework against Wolfsburg.
Despite the shuffling of the midfield, the same can't be said for the rest of the team.
Even in losses, they are statistically dominant. The average of 3.0 xG per match is more than the second- and third-place teams. They average the highest xG/shot in the league, and attempt far more shots per possession than anyone else. Robert Lewandowski has 25 goals in 20 matches, Serge Gnabry has eight goals, Thomas Muller has six goals and 12 assists, and a rejuvenated Leroy Sane is moving back to his natural left wing.
Lahm said that he believed that Sane's improvement was due to the fact that he was placed back there. It's important for a player to gain self-confidence by being allowed to play several matches in a row. There can be good and bad matches, but that approach can restore the confidence in a player.
Sane has played more minutes in all of the competition this season than he did in all of last season.
Both the lowest xG per shot and the lowest shots per possession are allowed by the team. They have the most set-piece goals and have allowed the least, thanks in part to the addition of Dayot Upamecano from RBL. Left-back Alphonso Davies has won 80% of his 123 duels this season, while Upamecano and fellow centre-back Lukas Hernandez have combined to win 70%. Their DFB-Pokal loss to Gladbach, in which they allowed a steady stream of high-quality scoring chances, was the exception to every rule.
Since arriving in the summer, Nagelsmann has adjusted quickly to life at the club and looks like he'll be the one to lead them into their next iteration.
In Nagelsmann, the club has found a successor to bothPep and Flick.
Lahm said that he believed that the man was a fan of the man and had taken his model. "Bayern became this kind of varied approach: sometimes three at the back, sometimes four in a defensive mode, sometimes three in an offensive mode." I think he's become a model to follow because he's a young, modern type of coach, and because of how well he's done in the Bundesliga.
They've been less impressive without Kimmich. They lost to Augsburg on Nov.19, but they won their two games in the competition.
Lahm said that Kimmich is an important player for the club. That is true today and in the future with Goretzka. It's something not to be taken lightly if Kimmich is missing during a top match. That does not help.
This has been a rivalry for a long time.
Between Nov. 2016 and Aug. 2019, they only won six of 10. In the last season's league matches, BVB took leads of 2-0 in Munich and 1-0 in Dortmund, but they were not enough to beat the Germans. In the six matches, BVB has averaged 8.2 and 1.2 shots and xG per match. They enjoyed higher xG in five of six matches, more touches in four and a higher pass completion rate in five.
It's hard to bet against a winning streak with Haaland and Kimmich back. "Haaland is back after his injury, so that is definitely an important factor," Lahm said, "and also they'll be playing in their own stadiums, so I expect this to be a very close match."
I have my own bets on the team.
That's usually a good bet.
