Duel at a distance

Wednesday, April 11, 8:00 p.m.

Fans of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, as well as a lot of neutrals, are already counting down to that date.

Only then, the thinking goes, on the evening the league's two leading clubs go head to head again, will much be decided in the race for the Bundesliga title.

After Bayern's 2-1 win over Hanover on Saturday, club chairman Uli Hoeness, ever one for a bellicose quote, was in fine form. He wasted no time looking past his club's next two opponents Nuremberg and Augsburg to declare that "If we win in Dortmund, we'll win the title!"

And on Sunday, once Dortmund had come away 6-1 winners from their match in Cologne, newspapers across Germany wasted no time in pronouncing the result a sign that Dortmund was spoiling for their coming fight with the Bavarian giants.

Don't believe the hype, much could happen between now and then.

Tough run

While Dortmund are league's form team at present, unbeaten since September, they have had a number of uneven outings in recent weeks. Before eviscerating a sorry Cologne this weekend, Dortmund's previous three games had seen them get two slightly fortunate home wins over Mainz and Bremen, as well as grind out a draw at Augsburg.

Over the next two weeks, those leading up to their all-important match against Bayern, Dortmund will face a sterner test. First they host Stuttgart, then they travel to Wolfsburg.

Both Bruno Labbadia's team and the Wolves, led by Felix Magath, are hitting their stride at the moment. They are the fifth- and sixth-best teams in the league since the winter break and are in a dogfight with Hanover at the moment for the Bundesliga's seventh spot - good enough for Europe this year. As things now stand, Stuttgart would qualify.

Moreover, Wolfsburg are a startlingly strong team at home - they have the league's fifth-best home record and have lost just once in the Volkswagen Arena since October.

Coming distractions

Bayern would appear to have things easier. It's true that Nuremberg away and Augsburg at home are not the tallest of orders, but Bayern's Champions League campaign could turn those matches into afterthoughts.

The club's focus will be squarely on their two-legged match with French side Olympique Marseille over the coming weeks, one which starts on Wednesday in the Stade Velodrome and concludes the following Tuesday back home.

And if Bayern do anything other than win big in Marseille at midweek, the conversation is going to be about nothing other than the club's dream of winning the Champions League in their home ground slipping away.

Bayern's date in Nuremberg with their in-state rivals (who are always up for the Bayern game) could well seem like a distraction under those circumstances.

And even if Bayern do sail through to the Champions League semi, they may have trouble focusing on the team in front of them when Augsburg comes to town.

Augsburg's own form is nothing to sniff at either. In recent weeks they've drawn with quality sides Dortmund, Hanover and Bremen - and they gave Bayern all they could handle back in November, when the Bundesliga newcomers nearly eked out a draw.

While it's certain much will be riding on the Dortmund-Bayern match on April 11, the circumstances going into it may not look like those of today.

Author: Matt Hermann
Editor: Andrew Bowen