Thomas Tuchel will take charge of Munich for the first time on Saturday Bayern vs Dortmund in Der Klassiker.

Match Details:

• Location: Munich, Germany
• Stadium: Allianz Arena
• Date: Saturday 1 April
• Kick-off Time: 17:30 BST / 12:30 ET / 09:30 PT
• Referee: Marco Fritz

Bayern vs Dortmund: Match Preview:

Whilst this is the 19th time that Bayern and Dortmund face each other while occupying the top two places in the Bundesliga table, it's only the fifth time that BVB lead Bayern in the standings across those occasions. This happened most recently on matchday 28 of 2018-19, when Bayern hammered Dortmund 5-0 at the Allianz Arena to overtake their rivals and eventually win the Bundesliga title.

This result was no outlier in recent years, as Bayern have had the upper hand over Dortmund for some time now. BVB can gain confidence from their 2-2 home draw with the reigning champions earlier this season, though, as that result ended a sequence of seven successive Bundesliga defeats to Bayern Munich.

The Allianz Arena hasn't been a venue that Borussia Dortmund have enjoyed playing at in recent memory, with Bayern winning their last eight successive home games in league competition against them whilst averaging more than four goals per game on average (33-6 aggregate score). Across their history in the Bundesliga, Dortmund have only had a longer losing streak away from home against one opponent, losing 10 successive trips to Werder Bremen between 1979 and 1989.

The impact of this result on the Bundesliga title race makes this the most exciting 'Klassiker' in quite some time, but just to add further intrigue to the game, Bayern decided to part ways with manager Julian Nagelsmann during the international break and replaced him with no other than former Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel.

🎙 Edin Terzic:

"We set out with the goal that we have to invest everything. We can send a signal – both to ourselves and to the competition. Tomorrow's game can set a direction, but it won't decide everything." pic.twitter.com/xOXpkQVn7h

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) March 31, 2023

Tuchel took charge of Borussia Dortmund from 2015-2017, where he averaged 2.09 points per game in the Bundesliga, which is a club record by a head coach in the competition. Across all competitions since 1963, only one Dortmund coach to have taken charge of at least 20 matches is able to match Tuchel's 63% win ratio at the club – current boss Edin Terzic, who has also won 63% of games.

Key players look set to be missing from both sides for this huge game. Just as in the first league meeting between the sides back in October, BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel is likely to miss out through injury, as will Bayern's first choice Manuel Neuer. Other Borussia Dortmund players that look doubtful or are completely ruled out for this game include Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Youssoufa Moukoko, while Lucas Hernandez is certainly out for Bayern.

The record Bundesliga champions will be sweating on the fitness of two of their biggest goal threats – top scorer Jamal Musiala (11 goals plus eight assists) and Eric Choupo-Moting (10 goals) face a race against time to be ready for selection.

Team News:

Bayern:

Tuchel is without stalwart goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to start his reign, while Lucas Hernandez is also out for the rest of the season.

🗣️ Tuchel on his language skills: "The French guys are pleased that I can say a few things. It's really nice to be able to communicate with the players in their own languages. I'm very pleased with my experiences abroad."#FCBBVB pic.twitter.com/eUwXZKBW3b

— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 31, 2023

We'll have to see which players the former Chelsea boss favours but a back three formation is on the cards which could help loan signing Joao Cancelo end his bench misery.

Leon Goretzka, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Jamal Musiala are fitness doubts but all have strong chances of starting or making the squad list.

Dortmund:

Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel is expected to make his first appearance since late February, but the game might come too soon for top BVB league goalscorer Julian Brandt.

Dortmund feels 😁 pic.twitter.com/H0ZNdg8d1X

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) March 30, 2023

There are further fitness doubts over Youssoufa Moukoko and Karim Adeyemi, so Donyell Malen could partner Sebastian Haller and Marco Reus in attack.

Bayern vs Dortmund : Head to Head:

• Bayern Munich have a good historical record against Borussia Dortmund and have won 65 out of the 132 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Borussia Dortmund's 35 victories.
• This is the 133rd official fixture between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund – no other fixture in German football has been played out as often as Der Klassiker.
• Borussia Dortmund held Bayern Munich to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture this season, ending a run of eight consecutive defeats in all competitions against the Bavarians.

"Your best ever goal against Dortmund?" 🤔💭💡🏆

❓ You asked
🗣️ @esmuellert_ answered!

Watch the full fan Q&A 👉 https://t.co/CQFDyFnkbo pic.twitter.com/MYbZQlrpPj

— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 31, 2023

Predicted Line-ups:

Bayern Munich predicted lineup (3-4-2-1): Sommer; Pavard; Upamecano; De Ligt; Cancelo, Kimmich, Goretzka, Davies; Sane, Muller; Choupo-Moting.

Borussia Dortmund predicted lineup (4-3-3): Kobel; Wolf, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson; Ozcan, Can, Bellingham; Malen, Haller, Reus.

BAY vs BVB: Fantasy XI

Kobel; Wolf,Upamecano; De Ligt; Can, Bellingham; Kimmich, Sane, Muller; Haller, Reus.