Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich: Vote for YOUR Klassiker dream team!

Ahead of the first Bundesliga Klassiker of the 2018/19 season, bundesliga.com is giving you the chance to vote for your Borussia Dortmund–Bayern Munich dream team. All 11 positions are up for grabs, and it’s your votes that will determine the final combined XI, which we will present to you ahead of Saturday’s big match.

Here you can take a look at the candidates for all 11 positions, as well as cast your vote in the poll below!

Jump to: Goalkeeper, Right back, Centre back I, Centre back II, Left-back, Central midfield I, Central midfield II, Right wing, Attacking midfield, Left wing, Striker

Vote for your combined XI below!

Goalkeeper

There was the feeling coming into this season that Bürki’s first-choice status in the Dortmund goal was under threat following the arrival of Marwin Hitz from Augsburg, but the 27-year-old has seen off the competition from his fellow Swiss shot-stopper. His four clean sheets in 10 Bundesliga outings is the second-best in the league and a key factor in Borussia’s climb to the top of the table.

A Bundesliga champion in 2008/09 with Wolfsburg, Hitz arrived in Dortmund during the summer after five successful seasons with Augsburg, where he made over 150 competitive appearances, including in the club’s one and so far only UEFA Europa League campaign in 2015/16. He made his BVB debut in the DFB Cup second-round win over Union Berlin, while Hitz is also the only goalkeeper in these two squads to have scored a Bundesliga goal (in a 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen in 2014/15).

After missing the majority of last season with a broken foot, the four-time World Goalkeeper of the Year has played every minute of this campaign for Bayern. However, his return of just two clean sheets in the Bundesliga this term will be a disappointment for a ‘keeper who has kept the ball out of his net in over 54 per cent of his 200 league appearances for the Munich club. But as the saying goes: form is temporary, class is permanent.

Perhaps the best understudy in football? Prior to last season, Ulreich had featured just six times in the Bundesliga for Bayern since joining in 2015, but Neuer’s injury meant he was thrust into the spotlight. And despite a couple of shaky moments, the former VfB Stuttgart man excelled, keeping a joint league-best 12 clean sheets in just 29 matches and was even named Bayern’s Player of the Year ahead of Joshua Kimmich and James Rodriguez with a third of fans’ votes.

Right-back

The 20-year-old Morocco international, on loan from Real Madrid, has made a flying start to life at the Signal Iduna Park as Dortmund have swept their way to the top of the Bundesliga. Three assists in the league, coupled with three more in two UEFA Champions League appearances serve as proof of Hakimi flourishing in Lucian Favre’s free-flowing Dortmund side.

Despite the emergence of Hakimi, the veteran Pole has managed just as many league appearances as his rival at right-back, providing one assist in the process. The fact he has been preferred in Champions League matches highlights the assuredness Piszczek’s experience brings to the table – a key asset when it comes to big clashes like Der Klassiker.

Last season’s fourth-highest provider in the league, Kimmich has picked up where he left off in Bayern’s title defence with a further three assists already this term. It will come as no surprise that Kimmich has attempted the most crosses in the league (45) and he is so often one of Bayern’s greatest threats going forward.

Quick, skilful, an accomplished passer of the ball, assured in possession and comfortable on either flank, Rafinha is an integral member of Bayern’s squad. Having recovered from an ankle injury that kept him out of action for four matches  – two of which Bayern lost – the Bavarians have been unbeaten in the three games since Rafinha returned. Coincidence? We’ll let you be the judge.

Centre back I

The 23-year-old Switzerland defender has been a revelation since joining from Basel in January this year. Another example of the modern defender, Akanji is strong, quick, good with both feet and always looking to transition possession from defence into midfield. No player has completed more passes in the Bundesliga so far this season than Akanji (96 per cent). Midfielders the league over will envy that stat.

Ömer Toprak

A torn thigh muscle has reduced the Turkey international’s appearances to date to just one minute in each of the last two matches against Hertha Berlin and Wolfsburg. It is a cruel blow for a player who flourished at the back end of last season. But having regained fitness, Toprak rightly takes his place on a list of centre-backs almost freakish in their immense touch, vision and passing ability, let alone the more familiar traits of more traditional central defenders that they each have in abundance.

The 30-year-old is a phenom of a centre-half, the epitome of a complete defender. He is comfortable carrying the ball out of defence and pinging balls with the precision of an NFL quarterback. He also boasts an imposing physical presence, meaning Boateng has developed into a one-of-a-kind player at Bayern. The clean sheets haven’t yet arrived this season in the numbers Boateng and his teammates would like, but his distribution has been as good as ever.

Surprisingly, Süle has been involved in just one Bundesliga clean sheet for the reigning champions this season with Bayern only shutting out the opposition twice so far. A disappointing return for the Munich giants, and Süle himself, but the Germany international has been typically imperious in possession, completing 94 per cent of his passes in the league. There are few, if any, better centre-backs in the world with the ball at their feet than the 23-year-old.

Centre back II

The 22-year-old French defender is yet another member of Favre’s enormously talented young defence. A left-footed, quick, strong and imposing defender, Diallo adds yet more versatility to a Dortmund rearguard brimming with vim and vigour. He’s technically strong and likes to build from the back while keeping the ball on the ground. What more could BVB ask for?

Dan-Axel Zagadou

With every improving performance, signing Zagadou on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain seems more and more like a stroke of genius at Dortmund and an enormous oversight from the French champions. Now operating in his preferred position at the heart of Dortmund’s defence, the 19-year-old has established himself as an imposing part of Favre’s backline.

One of the most accomplished defenders of his generation, Hummels is the leader of Bayern’s defensive pack. Authoritative in voice, the air and on the ground, at any other club Hummels’ name would be the first on the teamsheet. In a decked roster of centre-backs, however, Hummels is part of Nico Kovac’s rotation policy as a result of his embarrassment of riches at centre-half.

Is there any other player in the world who could realistically be regarded as world class operating at either centre-back or centre-midfield? It’s doubtful but Martinez very much can, and the 30-year-old is able to switch between both roles with the humility, grace and composure that underpins his style of play. He’s moved into more of a midfield role so far this term but few players in either team could claim to be an upgrade on Martinez in the back four.

Left-back

Raphael Guerreiro

Having joined Dortmund after winning Euro 2016 with Portugal, Guerreiro got an impressive six league goals in his first season at the club. One of those was a screamer in a 4-1 defeat against Bayern in April 2017, and he returned to Bavaria a few weeks later to star in a 3-2 DFB Cup semi-final win. A cup winner that season, the 24-year-old looks hungry to earn more accolades this term judging by his brace in the 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

Marcel Schmelzer

Schmelzer made his Dortmund debut in August 2008, and his second league appearance came against Bayern. The 30-year-old has seen it all in Der Klassiker, having played against the record champions more often than against any other Bundesliga club. Bayern have had the edge overall in those 26 matches, but Schmelzer won all four league meetings when Dortmund claimed back-to-back league titles between 2010 and 2012. The former Germany international also captained the visitors in their 3-2 win in Munich en route to lifting the DFB Cup in 2016/17.

Alaba has played a key role during one of Bayern’s most successful periods, and the free-kick specialist’s sizeable trophy cabinet reflects as much. The 26-year-old has won the Bundesliga seven times, has four DFB Cup winners’ medals, lifted the Champions League in 2013, and has already been named Austria’s Footballer of the Year on six occasions. In November 2017, he got his first ever goal against Dortmund in a 3-1 away win.

Central midfield I

Born in Syria, Dahoud moved to Germany as an infant and made his name at Borussia Mönchengladbach. A deep-lying playmaker, he progressed to become a Germany U21 international before joining Dortmund in the summer of 2017. Dahoud earned an impressive 3-1 win over Bayern with his former club in December 2015. Now reunited with ex-Gladbach boss Favre, the 22-year-old will be keen to make amends for the 6-0 loss Dortmund suffered in Munich in April 2018.

Witsel arrived in Dortmund following 18 months in China and after finishing third at the 2018 FIFA World Cup with Belgium. Any suggestions that he might suffer a World Cup hangover, however, were quickly dispelled. The 29-year-old rescued his new team with a debut goal against Greuther Fürth in the DFB Cup first round, and then scored on his Bundesliga debut in a 4-1 opening-day victory over RB Leipzig. Witsel looks like he has been playing in Dortmund’s midfield all his life, and also scored in a dominant performance during the 4-0 hammering of Atletico.

A key player for Schalke after joining from Bochum as an 18-year-old, Goretzka enhanced his reputation with three goals for Germany on the way to winning the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. Bayern made their move soon afterwards, agreeing a deal that saw the 23-year-old move to Munich in July 2018. Some minor niggles have disrupted Goretzka’s start, but he still scored in away wins over Mainz and Stuttgart. Goretzka never netted in six Revierderby appearances for Schalke against Dortmund, so he’ll hope for better in Der Klassiker.

Sanches’ early career was something of a roller-coaster, and he arrived in Munich as an 18-year-old who had just helped Portugal win Euro 2016 against the odds. The former Benfica player found it hard to settle at Bayern initially, but he has made a highly promising return following a loan spell at Swansea. The highlight so far was a Champions League goal against Benfica in Lisbon, but there is clearly a whole lot more to come from the prodigiously gifted 21-year-old.

Central midfield II

Central to Dortmund’s revival and their midfield, Delaney is developing a flourishing partnership with Witsel. The 27-year-old garnered plenty of Champions League experience with Copenhagen before moving to Werder Bremen in January 2017. He then caught the eye with a hat-trick against Freiburg in April of that year and a goal against his future employers 12 months later. A combative presence in Denmark’s World Cup midfield, Delaney has yet to win against Bayern in his career.

Julian Weigl

When he’s on song, Weigl is like a metronome for Dortmund – keeping the team ticking over at the right tempo. The former 1860 Munich captain joined his current club in 2015, playing a vital role against Bayern in the 2016/17 DFB Cup semi-final. Another player who has bad luck with injury, the 23-year old Germany international returned to score in the 7-0 win over Nuremberg in September before captaining the side that beat Union Berlin in the DFB Cup second round.

The 2018/19 campaign is Thiago’s sixth with Bayern, and there is no doubt that the Spanish playmaker has been a vital cog in a side that has already won five league titles during his time in Munich. The former Barcelona player has featured in over 100 Bundesliga matches, but has lost just nine, and only persistent injury problems have prevented him from wielding even more of a positive influence. Only teammate Kimmich has seen more touches of the ball this season (1,002) than Thiago (893).

Bayern’s record signing, Tolisso scored on his Bundesliga debut in an opening-day win over Leverkusen in August 2017. He finished his first season in Germany with an impressive 10 goals and seven assists in 40 appearances across all competitions, before helping France win the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The seventh Frenchman to represent Bayern, he again netted in a home win over Leverkusen in September, but cruelly suffered a cruciate ligament injury in the same game.

Right wing

Having spent last season on loan with VfB Stuttgart, Bruun Larsen has been in flying form since returning to Dortmund. The Dane’s first Bundesliga goal – in the 7-0 drubbing of Nuremberg – was swiftly followed by another to start the comeback in the 4-2 win over Leverkusen on Matchday 6. Thrown on at half-time against Monaco in October, the 20-year-old needed only six minutes on the pitch to mark his Champions League debut with the opening goal of the game.

Bravely leaving home comforts in search of more game time in Germany, Sancho has taken to the Bundesliga like a duck to water. The 18-year-old netted one goal in 12 league appearances during his first season at Dortmund, and since then the former Manchester City youngster has gone from strength to strength. The Londoner chalked up four goals and six assists in his first 10 Bundesliga matches of the 2018/19 campaign, and even weighed in with a Champions League goal against Atletico. Little wonder then, that Dortmund tied him down to a new contract – and that England handed him a first senior cap.

A new kid on the block for Bayern in 2018/19, Gnabry has already featured in nine league matches this season. The 23-year-old scored over 10 league goals in each of the past two seasons while playing for Bremen and Hoffenheim, and he got his first for Bayern in the 1-1 draw with Freiburg. History shows that Gnabry tends to get his goals in bunches, so Dortmund best be wary.

Now 34, Robben has experienced all the highs and lows that come with being at a top club. With 98 goals and 62 assists in almost 200 Bundesliga games, the Dutch winger will go down as one of the best players ever to grace the league. A seven-time German champion, Robben missed a crucial penalty in a 1-0 loss at Dortmund during an epic title race in 2011/12. The former Chelsea player bounced back in spectacular style, though, driving Bayern to the treble the following year and getting the winning goal against BVB in the Champions League final. With three league goals already this season, the veteran is still a constant danger as he approaches a century of strikes in the Bundesliga.

Attacking midfield

A man familiar to both sides of the Klassiker divide, the name of Mario Götze will forever be linked with the 2014 World Cup final and his winning goal for Germany against Argentina. Life hasn’t been straightforward for the 26-year-old since then with form and illness curtailing his progress. After a slow start this season, Götze looks to be getting back on track with a goal and an assist in just three Bundesliga appearances. A false nine, an attacking midfielder and a deep-lying playmaker, the Dortmund youth product’s versatility makes him an asset for any side.

Dortmund’s leader on and off the pitch, Reus has been the driving force behind their charge for the title so far. The 29-year-old’s combined 11 goals and assists in the league this season is second only to Eintracht Frankfurt’s Sebastien Haller. Fit and seemingly injury-free once again, Borussia’s Rolls Reus is steadily shifting through the gears.

Just as Reus embodies Dortmund, Thomas Müller does so for Bayern. The Bavarian boy turned club legend has become a footballing enigma during his 450-match career with the Bundesliga’s record champions. The one and only Raumdeuter, the 29-year-old’s role within a team goes much beyond statistics for goals and assists, which still stand at a remarkable combined total of 333 for Bayern.

The Colombian playmaker recently reached a half century of Bayern appearances, and his numbers over halfway into his two-year loan deal from Real Madrid make for impressive reading: 11 goals and 16 assists. A man who saves his best for the big stage, James played a central part in both of Bayern’s successes over Dortmund last season with a goal and four assists in 3-1 and 6-0 wins.

Left wing

Pulisic is still only 20 but is developing into a leader in the Dortmund squad. Now in his fourth season with the first team, he has already scored in every competition this term. A few days after coming off the bench to net the winner in their Champions League opener against Belgian champions Club Brugge in September, the USA international got a crucial equaliser at Hoffenheim on Matchday 4 of the Bundesliga. The Pennsylvania native also netted in the DFB Cup game against Union Berlin, and was brought down for the extra-time penalty from which enabled Reus to sink a last-gasp winning penalty.

Wolf won his first trophy as a pro when he helped Eintracht Frankfurt beat Bayern 3-1 in the 2018 DFB Cup final. A summer move to Dortmund followed, and the adaptable attacker has already shown signs of building on his obvious potential. The 23-year-old brought up his first goal for Dortmund in a Matchday 3 victory over his former club, and the ex-1860 Munich and Hannover player now has a pair of Champions League starts behind him.

Coman’s progress has been checked by injury all too often and, like his compatriot Tolisso, he has been a big loss for Bayern this season. The tricky winger has scored 16 goals and made 22 more in 96 appearances for the champions, but the 22-year-old picked up another bad ankle injury against Hoffenheim on the opening day of the 2018/19 campaign. Dortmund might be relieved, since the former Juventus player has been on the winning side in all seven matches he has played against them as a professional.

The man who gave a serious injection of French flair to the Bundesliga recently made his 400th appearance for Bayern in all competitions. The 35-year-old has scored 117 goals and made 180 more in that time, helping him become an eight-time German champion and a Champions League winner. Having joined Bayern in 2007, Ribery has been involved in 16 goals in the 23 matches he has played against Dortmund.

Striker

Robert Lewandowski may be the current holder of the Torjägerkanone, but one of his successors at Dortmund has the honour firmly in his sights. On loan from Barcelona, Alcacer has taken the Bundesliga by storm with seven goals in just five appearances. The Spaniard has found the back of the net every 29 minutes in the German top flight, which is by far the best return of any player this season.

Maximilian Philipp

Philipp has started six of Dortmund’s 10 Bundesliga matches this season. He may only have one goal in the league in that time, but the 24-year-old has a good goalscoring record at BVB with 10 strikes in just 29 Bundesliga outings since joining from Freiburg. Add to that his ability to play across the front line, and Philipp is a valuable member of Borussia’s attack.

A man who needs no introduction to either side in Der Klassiker, the prolific Polish striker has run out 131 and 135 times for Dortmund and Bayern respectively. Lewandowski is also the top scorer in Klassiker history with 17 goals from 27 encounters in all competitions. His tally of five goals in nine league outings this season may be down on his usual rate of scoring, but Lewandowski’s total of 185 goals in the German top flight – sixth on the all-time list – makes it very hard to leave the striker out of any team.

Only a bit-part player this campaign, the former Germany international has scored just once – in the DFB Cup second-round win at Rödinghausen. He did, however, net an impressive eight goals in his 14 Bundesliga appearances after re-joining Bayern in the second half of last season. He might not have the glamour of a Lewandowski or Alcacer, but Wagner is a proven goalscorer in the Bundesliga.

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