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The two biggest clubs in Germany once again face each other for the second time in the league at the Allianz Arena in a crucial match for both clubs.
The first leg between the clubs earlier in December ended with Borussia Dortmund winning 3-2 at the Signal Iduna Park after Bayern twice went ahead with Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus twice levelling it up for Dortmund before Paco Alcacer came off the bench to score the winner.
Much has changed since the last Klassiker with Dortmund this season and dropping points more often while Bayern Munich has had a resurgence with the Bavarian giants going on a rampaging that saw them level on points with Dortmund last week.
The two clubs are separated by just two points with the defending champions on 61 points while the challengers are on 63 points.
Before the Der Klassiker on Saturday at the Allianz Arena let's take a look at how a team made up of stars from both the teams based on their performance this season would line up.
Stats courtesy: Whoscored.com, Bundesliga.com
Formation (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper - Roman Burki
It is never easy to reach the top of the pile and not at all easy to stay on top it but Manuel Neuer has been at top of the pile, the best in the world between the sticks for a long while. This season though has seen the World Cup winner showing some loss of form and weaknesses.
Even though the German has been good, he has not been the best in the league this season. The new year though has seen Neuer getting better and better but Roman Burki in my view has been the better of the two. The Swiss international has been sensational this season, even though the best keeper in the league this season belongs to Peter Gulasci.
Roman Burki has appeared 26 times for Dortmund this season and has 8 clean sheets to his name while conceding 28 goals with an average of 1 goal conceded per 84 mins. The Swiss international has made 73 saves in the league a whopping 37 saves more than Neuer.
The German No.1 though outranks Burki in the clean sheet and goal conceded per minute ratio with 9 clean sheets in 24 matches with 23 goals conceded with an average of 1 goal conceded per 94 mins.
The Swiss international's consistency this season makes him a better choice between the sticks for the first time instead of the German No.1
Defence
Abdou Diallo
Quite frankly there is just one name, Achraf Hakimi, that comes to the mind when talking about left backs amongst the two teams, but unfortunately, that man is out for the season after suffering an injury.
Amongst the Bayern Munich side, there is just David Alaba, but the Austrian has been a mere shadow of himself this season and has failed to live up to his credentials. On the other hand, the Borussia Dortmund has replaced the injured Hakimi with Abdou Diallo, who has had a brilliant season so far at the heart of the Dortmund defence. The versatility and the poor form of Alaba put Diallo in front of the Austrian.
The Frenchman has made 23 appearances in the league and averages 1.5 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per 90 mins. The 22-year old also has a 59% success in duels and has a goal and an assist to his name.
Manuel Akanji
The star man in the Dortmund defence and the best defender amongst the two teams this season. If not for the injury setbacks, Akanji would have played much more than his 18 appearances.
The Swiss international has been colossal at the heart of the Dortmund defence forming an impressive partnership with Abdou Diallo and later Dan Axel-Zagadou. Manuel Obafemi Akanji has averaged 1 tackle and 1.3 interceptions per 90 minutes while also recording an impressive 61.3% victories in duels.
The Swiss international also has a goal to his name.
Niklas Sule
The future of Bayern's central defence, Niklas Sule has been the pick of the Bayern defence this defence with Jerome Boateng miles behind his usual self as well as Mats Hummels. The season has seen the Boateng-Hummels pairing showing clear signs of decline coinciding with Bayern Munich's poor start to the season.
The 23-year old has made 24 appearances for the Bavarian giants and has averaged 0.8 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per 90 minutes. The most impressive aspect of German has been his passing with a success rate of 94.5%. Sule has also an impressive 64.2% success rate in duels.
The German international has a goal to his name.
Joshua Kimmich
The rightful heir to the throne left by Philip Lahm, Joshua Kimmich is still a work in progress and a long way off the standards kept by his predecessor.
That said Kimmich has had an impressive season so far with most of the Bayern Munich attack flowing the right flank and orchestrated by the 24-year old.
Arguably the best right back in the world at the moment, Joshua Kimmich has made an appearance in every single match for the Bavarian giants and averages 1.1 tackles and 1 interception per 90 mins.
It is the German internationals offensive side that has been the impressive feat with 10 assists and 2 goals to his name. The right-back is the second leading assist maker in the league and also has a 91.2% pass success rate while averaging 2 key passes per 90 minutes.
Axel Witsel
The Borussia Dortmund midfield metronome, Axel Witsel has arguably been the signing of the season in the Bundesliga. The Belgian arrived in Dortmund after an impressive World Cup but this did not put the fans from having doubts on the Belgian after spending the last two seasons in the Chinese Super League.
Axel Witsel has made 26 appearances in the league and has 3 goals and an assist to his name. Being a defensive-minded midfielder these stats are more than what is required. The Belgian has averaged 1.5 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per 90 mins and also has an impressive 94.1% pass success rate.
Thiago
The orchestrator in the Bayern midfield, Thiago Alcantara has had an average season so far. The Spaniard has been once again key for the Bavarian midfield but has in some ways failed to reach up to his high standards. But still, the Spaniard is the best amongst both the teams.
Thiago has made 23 appearances in the league this season and has scored 2 goals and made 4 assists in this time. The Spaniard averages 1 key pass per game and has an average of 83.2 passes per game with a pass success rate of 93.1%.
Jadon Sancho
The golden boy of English football, Jadon Sancho has taken the Bundesliga by storm this season after arriving from Manchester City last year.
The Englishman started his Bundesliga career slowly with much of his appearances coming off the bench before becoming a regular starter for Borussia Dortmund. The 18-year old performances have been so impressive that he made his England debut this season.
Jadon Sancho has made 27 appearances in the league and has recorded 8 goals and 13 assists for Dortmund. The 13 assists this season is the highest number assists made in the top 5 European leagues with Sancho staying ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi in the standings.
The 18-year-old also averages 2 key passes per match along with 1.3 shots per game.
Marco Reus
One of the greatest ever Bundesliga players and definitely one of the best players in the league at the moment, Marco Reus has had an up and down run in the league so far. The German international has been plagued by injuries in the last few seasons but this time the attacking midfielder has stayed fit which has resulted in Dortmund occupying the top of the league after the completion of 27 matches.
The German international has made 22 appearances and has scored 15 goals so far, making him the joint 4th highest goal scorer in the league. The 29-year-old has also made 6 assists making the German being directly involved in 21 goals for Dortmund.
Marco Reus averages 1.5 key passes and 2.6 shots per game.
Sergi Gnabry
It was either the German Sergi Gnabry or the Columbian James Rodriguez for the last remaining attacking midfielder role in this team. The German international though pips the Columbian having had a more consistent display than his teammate, even though most their stats are identical.
Sergi Gnabry has made 23 appearances in the league so far this season and has scored 7 goals and made 3 assists. The German international also averages 2 shots and 0.8 key passes per match.
Robert Lewandowski
This list can never be complete without adding the former Borussia Dortmund and present Bayern Munich player Robert Lewandowski.
The Polish international has once again been on the money for Bayern this season despite the poor start for the Bavarians. This season has also seen Robert Lewandowski became the highest goal scoring non-German in the league this season after surpassing the record held by 40-year old Claudio Pizarro of Werder Bremen.
Robert Lewandowski has made 26 appearances in the league so far and has been directly involved in 26 goals for Bayern this season. The Polish international is the top scorer in the league with 19 goals and has a further 7 assists to his name.
Lewandowski also averages an impressive 4.3 shots and 1.5 key passes per match.
Notable Mentions
Manuel Neuer
The German captain is by far having his worst season in this league since joining Bayern Munich. The starting of the season saw Neuer making many uncharacteristic mistakes but since the last Der Klassiker, the World Cup winner has picked up his performance and has started showing why the German is considered one of the greatest ever goalkeepers to play the game.
James Rodriguez
As mentioned before it was either Gnabry or Rodriguez. Even though Rodriguez has made less number of appearances than the German, the Columbian has failed to show consistency to his match this season.
Like Gnabry, Rodriguez has scored 7 goals and made 3 assists this season but in just 18 appearances.
Paco Alcacer
It is rare that you see a striker scoring 16 goals in a season and occupying the second spot in the league's top scorer for the season but still failing to make it into to the combined XI.
The Spanish forward who joined Dortmund from Barcelona this season has been a revelation at the German side. The 25-year-old became the leading goal scorer in the league in a season while coming off the substitution bench with most his goals coming after coming on as a substitute.
The Spaniard has made 21 appearances but has only 9 starts to his name. What is more interesting is the fact that the 16 goals for Paco have come from just 964 minutes.
