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Sports

Wounded Bayern hits the road to face Dortmund

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Dortmund, Germany (SportsNetwork.com) - Bayern Munich travels to Signal Iduna Park on Saturday for a meeting with Borussia Dortmund, although the stakes are a bit different from normal.

The two sides have battled it out at the top of the Bundesliga over the past few seasons, but Dortmund's terrible start to this season saw the club drop to the relegation zone at the midway point in the campaign, and Jurgen Klopp's side has been attempting to move up the table ever since.

Bayern, meanwhile, has been coasting at the top of the league for most of the season and the Bavarians bring a 10-point lead over second-place Wolfsburg into the weekend's showdown.

And while Pep Guardiola's men remain firm favorites to retain their title, the club would love to bounce back from a loss in the league last time out, just the team's second in the Bundesliga.

The 2-0 defeat to Monchengladbach in March will see Bayern anxious to return to the win column, but the team will be somewhat shorthanded on Saturday.

Arjen Robben and Javi Martinez will miss out, while Franck Ribery is also unlikely to play because of an ankle injury. Midfielder David Alaba will be sidelined for the next seven weeks after sustaining a knee injury while on international duty, leaving Guardiola short on options.

Dortmund is still 12 points out of a Champions League place, but the club will at least be buoyed by its current seven-match unbeaten streak in league play.

Wolfsburg will be hoping Dortmund can continue that streak to give the club a chance to close the gap further on Bayern with a win at home over last-place Stuttgart.

Monchengladbach's win over Bayern last time out will certainly inspire confidence, and the club will aim to move a bit closer to securing a Champions League place with a win at Hoffenheim.

Bayer Leverkusen holds a six-point lead on Schalke for the final Champions League berth and the club hosts relegation-battling Hamburg, while Schalke visits fellow European contender Augsburg with the clubs separated by just one point.

In other Bundesliga action Hannover visits Eintracht, Cologne travels to Freiburg, Werder Bremen takes on Mainz and Paderborn attempts to move out of the relegation zone with a win at Hertha Berlin.