Saturday, May 25, 2013

Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich





Borussia Dortmund's Champions League hopes were dealt a blow by the confirmation that Mario Gotze will miss the final due to a thigh injury.

Kevin Grosskreutz is expected to take the 20-year-old's place in the XI, with Marco Reus shifting into the centre of the attacking trio behind Robert Lewandowski.


At the back, Lukasz Piszczek is fit to play, but will undergo thigh surgery in the summer, while Mats Hummels is expected to shake off a minor ankle injury to feature against the club that bred him.

Meanwhile, the only major question mark in the Bayern Munich ranks is as to whom will partner Dante at centre-back.

With Holger Badstuber missing since December, Daniel Van Buyten and Jerome Boateng have been rotated at the heart of defence, but the Belgian is the more likely to start the final.

Toni Kroos remains sidelined after picking up a muscle injury in the quarter-final first leg against Juventus, so Arjen Robben will continue on the right, with Thomas Muller lining up behind lone striker Mario Mandzukic, who should keep his place ahead of Mario Gomez.


  • Borussia Dortmund have won the Champions League on one previous occasion, beating Juventus 3-1 to claim the trophy in 1997.
  • Jurgen Klopp's side triumphed 5-2 against Bayern Munich last season in the DFB-Pokal final, with Robert Lewandowski (pictured, right) scoring a hat-trick.
  • Defender Mats Hummels joined BVB from Bayern back in 2009 after a successful loan spell at Signal Iduna Park.
  • Injured playmaker Mario Gotze has already agreed a deal which will see him move to Bayern at the season's end.
  • Bayern Munich are seeking to win their fifth European Cup and join Liverpool as the joint-third most successful team in the competition's history, behind AC Milan and Real Madrid.
  • The Bavarians are unbeaten against BVB in all four of the teams' meeting this season, drawing 1-1 twice in the Bundesliga, and beating their rivals 2-1 and 1-0 in the Supercup and Pokal respectively.
  • The only previous all-German final in the history of European club competition was in the 1980 Uefa Cup final, when Eintracht Frankfurt beat Borussia Monchengladbach on away goals after recording a 3-3 draw over two legs.
 

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