Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munchen Live

By Nuel Nonny | 19th November 2016

Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern Munchen as they visit Dortmund go in unbeaten and top of the league.

The side in the Champions League have qualified for the round of 16 with two games to spare. They’ve advanced to the third round of the DFB Pokal, too. But Bayern wouldn’t be Bayern if they didn’t want more: sharp, cohesive football, for example.

Germany’s Bundesliga most high-profile domestic game has come with so many trophy ceremonies attached: Bayern and Dortmund have contested eight separate pieces of silverware in finals (DFB Pokal, Champions League) or one-off matches (German Supercup) since 2011, to say nothing of six league titles in the same space of time. It’s enough to make a mere November three-pointer between first and fifth in the table almost feel like a “Klassiker-light” in comparison.

This time, both teams have more at stake than usual at this relatively early stage at the season. Saturday night’s battle isn’t one for Bundesliga hegemony, for a change, but for some much-needed comfort in times of doubt as it would offer the victor freedom to carry on through to Christmas with a sense of security.

Dortmund and Munich are less concerned with beating each other. It’s the mutual fear of losing — and the recriminations that would come with it — that will make the latest instalment of Black and Yellows vs. Reds a compelling spectacle.