Borussia Dortmund's last victory against Bayern Munich came in their last home meeting before the pandemic, when SIGNAL IDUNA PARK was sold out. In front of a full house – with 81,000 fans behind them – BVB will again be aiming to win this clash between the reigning runners-up and champions. The whole world will be watching. For the first time ever, journalists from every continent will be at a Bundesliga match: 450 media representatives, 20 camera teams.

"We will not only need a good and disciplined tactical performance; we will need courage too. Courage to keep the ball, courage in one-on-ones and to get shots away," said Edin Terzic, outlining two of the many qualities needed to compete with and, in the best-case scenario, beat Bayern. "Not only against Bayern, but especially against Bayern."

"From the first second!"

The fans will give a helping hand. Terzic is expecting "phases of the game that won't be easy for us as a team. We will then need the energy that the fans can give us. But equally, it is our responsibility to show our opponents from the beginning that we want to leave the pitch as winners." It will be important to "immediately get the spectators on board. From the first second onwards, not only in the opening stages, not only in the first half, but also at the beginning of the second half and then until the end. And in that case, I am sure that the atmosphere will contribute to a positive outcome in this game."

On the personnel front, there is relief in sight. The long-term injury absentees aside, four players could return to the squad – but not Marco Reus, who sustained an ankle injury three weeks ago against Schalke. "He's also been ill this week and has not been able to take the steps in his rehabilitation that we'd hoped for," Terzic explained, adding: "That means he has now not been able to train with the team for almost three weeks."

Without Reus, but perhaps with Hummels

Gio Reyna is a contender for a substitute appearance in the final half-hour, while Gregor Kobel will probably make the squad too. But one must not forget that "it has not been four weeks without training or matches". Meaning: Kobel will be among the substitutes. Terzic said: "Gregor remains our No. 1, but it only makes sense to let him play when he's at 100%. Everyone has seen Alex Meyer's performances. We will have a really good player in goal for us tomorrow – and we'll need one too."

In addition to Marius Wolf (circulation issues), Mats Hummels has also shaken off a cold. "He is having a very good, very consistent season," praised Terzic. The statistics attest to that: BVB have conceded only one Bundesliga goal in 512 minutes with Hummels in the team; without him, they have conceded nine goals in 208 minutes. Terzic said: "We would be very happy if he were an option. It's a case of seeing how he feels and how his body reacts to the workload."
Boris Rupert