Six wins in a row. Nine wins in ten second-round games. With this recommendation Borussia Dortmund challenges FC Bayern Munich on Tuesday. At least from a personal point of view, this top game for BVB is not yet at the right time.
Wolfsburg (dpa) - FC Bayern Munich obviously has to be particularly careful with a Dortmund player on Tuesday evening. It is not Mario Götze who has to leave BVB after this season.
And neither is Mats Hummels, whose use in the top game of the Bundesliga (Tuesday, 6.30 p.m. / Sky) is likely, but not yet certain. According to the state of affairs, it is about the Portuguese Raphaël Adelino José Guerreiro, who particularly stands out with a Bayern challenger who has just won in a loop. After two goals in the derby against Schalke 04, the full-back also scored the important lead goal in the 2-0 (1-0) victory at VfL Wolfsburg.
Guerreiro is what is called a bargain in modern football. Borussia Dortmund paid twelve million euros to FC Lorient four years ago for the 2016 European champion. For this sum, at least before the Corona crisis, Cristiano Ronaldo would not have got half a leg. "Rapha plays simple soccer," said Lucien Favre after the Wolfsburg game. You can hardly get a bigger compliment from a somewhat crazy trainer like him.
However, the Bayern rival also relies on the goals from the second row if it lags more and more in the first row. Captain Marco Reus has been injured since February. The key player Axel Witsel was missing after the Schalke game this Saturday in Wolfsburg. Jadon Sancho was on the bench for more than an hour in both games due to his training deficit. And Mats Hummels had to be replaced by Emre Can in the Volkswagen Arena. One (Hummels) could not continue playing due to Achilles tendon complaints. The other (Can) took over his job in the defense center after he had just recovered from a muscle injury.
At first glance, that doesn't fit together. BVB has a run this spring. He has won the last four league games before the season break and now the first two afterwards. Of 30 points awarded so far in the second half of the season, the Dortmund team won 27 and put the leaders from Munich under pressure. Nevertheless, during this successful period, Borussia broke part of its axis and the question now is: is it enough to win against Bayern in this line-up? Can you win the "German Clasico" with a number of highly talented part-time employees?
Manuel Akanji believes: Yes. The Swiss international defends in BVB's new three-back line and therefore knows from his own experience that his team's defensive organization and number of goals conceded have improved considerably since the 3-4 in Leverkusen at the beginning of February. "The key is that the whole team defends well," said the 24-year-old. "We hardly allow any chances. And we know that we can always score a goal. I hope that will work against Bayern on Tuesday."
In addition: Mats Hummels is confident that he will be fit again by Tuesday evening. "Hummels himself expressed optimism in the evening that he would be able to play in the top game against Bayern Munich," it said on the BVB homepage after the Wolfsburg game.
The Dortmund team also sees a return from Axel Witsel and a comeback from Jadon Sancho. "He's only been training with the team for ten days. That's not a lot," said Favre of the 20-year-old Englishman who prepared the second goal for Achraf Hakimi (78th) on Saturday after his substitution. Nevertheless, according to Favre, "he can play longer than today".
In theory, this also applies to Mario Götze. In practice, however, the 2014 world champion is not even used anymore when his coach is allowed to replace five times or has to spare as many offensive forces. As a consequence, the club and its once greatest hope will separate after this season, neither side is interested in an extension of the expiring contract. The 27-year-old Götze once went from Dortmund to Munich with a loud roar and only returned three years later for a lot of money. In the duel of both clubs this Tuesday, however, he will probably no longer play a role.
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