On Saturday evening, Bayern Munich and arch-rivals Dortmund go head-to-head at the Allianz Arena in what is usually a pivotal game in the race for the Bundesliga title.

Bayern Munich (Odds of 1/ 2 for victory)

This is Bayern Munich’s first Bundesliga game after the exit of head coach Niko Kovac. The Croatian boss left the club just a day after a humiliating 5-1 defeat at his former club Eintracht Frankfurt.  Hans-Dieter Flick will take charge of the game in a caretaker capacity.

The fact that the reigning champions had won just once in their last four Bundesliga outings played a part in Kovac’s exit. The heavy defeat against Frankfurt was just the final straw for Bayern’s hierarchy.

Bayern are currently fourth-place in the German top-flight, four points behind leaders Monchengladbach. They also trail perennial rivals Dortmund by a point. It is not an impossible position for the home side to come back from. In fact, they bridged a far bigger gap to Dortmund last season, who were top for a long period of the season.

One facet of Bayern’s game that has stayed strong in recent seasons is their home record, as they have won 14 of their last 16 Bundesliga matches at the Allianz Arena. They have also been highly prolific of late on home soil in German top-flight, scoring at least two goals in six of their last seven matches.

Dortmund (Odds of 9/2 for victory)

Dortmund looks to have regained their form after a short dip in form. A 3-0 win over Wolfsburg last time out in the Bundesliga means that BVB are now unbeaten in seven league outings. The win also saw the visitors keep a third straight clean sheet in the Bundesliga.

Dortmund have been potent in attack of late in the German top-flight, scoring at least twice in 13 of their last 16 league games.

One aspect that Dortmund needs to improve upon is their recent away record, as Lucien Favre’s team has drawn their last three away matches in the Bundesliga, having previously suffered defeat at Union Berlin. Their away games have been entertaining affairs, though, with four of their last five league matches producing over 2.5 goals.

An away win in Munich would certainly be a good way to end a four-match run without a win on their travels in the German top-flight. BVB have lost on their last three visits to Bayern, conceding at least twice in all three defeats. The last two visits have resulted in humiliating 5-0 and 6-0 losses.

Conclusion

The departure of Niko Kovac as Bayern boss certainly makes this game harder to judge. Dortmund are certainly in the better form heading into this potentially massive clash, but Bayern have a habit of turning up when it counts.

This game is hard to judge, so I am going to sit on the fence and say the match will end in a draw, which you can back at odds of 15/4.

Verdict: Back the draw at odds of 15/4

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Who will come out on top in this weekend’s big game in Germany?