Haaland vs Lewandowski steals focus in title defining Dortmund vs Bayern clash

There is no hiding the fact that this evening's meeting between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich will almost certainly be the decisive match in the Bundesliga title race.

Indeed, the latest installment of 'Der Klassiker' promises to be a barnstorming game between Germany's top dogs, with the reigning champions from Bavaria boasting a four point lead at the top of the table. A victory for their hosts would not only reduce that gap to just one, but represent a potential route back into the running for RB Leipzig.

As such, the neutrals will surely be cheering on Borussia Dortmund in the hope of an exciting climax to an unprecedented campaign. Victory for Bayern, after all, would extend their lead to a seemingly unassailable seven points with just six matches remaining.

As far as the bookies are concerned, that's the way they see this one heading, with Hansi Flick's men the strong favourites to come away from Dortmund with all three points. There's no question that has been swayed by the fact that the hosts won't be able to call upon their famous 'Yellow Wall' for support, but home advantage shouldn't be entirely overlooked.

There has been just one away win in the last nine league meetings between these sides after all, and this season no visiting side has come away from the Westfalenstadion with a victory in all competitions. BVB haven't just been their usual free-scoring selves at home of late but since a 3-3 draw with fellow title hopefuls Leipzig last year, Dortmund's 2020 league record at home reads five matches, five wins, 19 goals scored and just one conceded.

Lucien Favre's side have won to nil in both of their matches since the restart, while Bayern shipped twice to struggling Frankfurt at the weekend, albeit in a convincing 5-2 win. Both teams rested key players last time out too, with Jadon Sancho and Serge Gnabry surely left out with this match in mind, while the hosts are hoping to welcome back key midfielder Axel Witsel too.

Marco Reus will be missing, which is an undeniable blow, but Julian Brandt is impressing from a central position and could have a key part to play, particularly if Bayern are without Thiago, who missed the game on Saturday with adductor problems.

All eyes, however, will of course be on the two focal points to each side's attack. Robert Lewandowski is making yet another return to his former club and invariably finds the net against them. Dortmund, however, now have a player that seems a worthy adversory to the Pole's undeniable status as the Bundesliga's best striker, if not now then certainly in the years to come.

Erling Haaland is preparing for his first Klassiker appearance and will be desperate to make his mark on the historic fixture at the first time of asking. He may be 17 goals back on his opponent as things stand, but the Norwegian's ten Bundesliga goals have come at a faster rate (every 69.2 minutes). Moreover, his remarkable conversion rate of 47.6 per cent is more than double that of Lewandowski (23.7 per cent), and he'd love to emerge victorious in the fight of the forwards.

Whether it's Hummels vs Boateng, Hakimi vs Davies, Can vs Kimmich, Brandt vs Muller or Sancho vs Gnabry, there are head-to-heads all over the pitch that will be intriguing to watch this evening. Strap in for what should be a sensational spectacle!