Bayern Munich star Thomas Müller has been through his fair share of battles with Borussia Dortmund and while the veteran is not likely to play a major role in today’s match, he can still appreciate the rivalry.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily because of the game itself, but also because the two sets of fans are especially passionate. The rivalry has a long history, with both teams always competing for titles. For that reason, Dortmund have always been my biggest German rival,” Müller told Bundesliga.com.
The Bavarians are the favorites on the road, but BVB is highly motivated and that should make this a very interesting match-up.
FC Barcelona is not giving up on its pursuit of Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, but if that move does not come to fruition, the Catalans have an alternative identified — Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia:
Barcelona’s priority to reinforce on the left wing is still Athletic Club’s Nico Williams, reports Diario Sport. The 22-year-old has a €60m release clause but his wage demands of a net €9m to €10m-per-season could be a hinderance for the Blaugrana, and Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is being viewed as the main alternative to the Spain international.
Bayern Munich is in the midst of the tough stretch before the Winterpause, but the squad is riding high and playing extremely well under Vincent Kompany.
That said, there are quite a few hit discussions topics surrounding the team at the moment, so we are going to tackle those and some other fun things on this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show. This is what we have on tap:
- In the spirit of the holiday (at least for those of us in the United States), let’s talk about what we’re thankful for with Bayern Munich so far this season.
- Does the greater Bundesliga need Borussia Dortmund to win this weekend to save the league title race?
- Let’s talk about the latest Leroy Sané rumor and what that might mean for the team moving forward.
Bayern Munich center-back Kim Min-jae was named to the “Champions League Team of Matchday 5” by WhoScored.com:
Federico Chiesa’s move from Juventus to Liverpool FC has not gone as planned, but Inter Milan could be willing to throw him a life preserver:
Inter Milan are looking to sign Liverpool winger Federico Chiesa on loan, according to Tuttosport. Chiesa, 27, only arrived in the summer for a cut-price fee of around €12m but has struggled to assert himself in the Premier League and the report claims he could be interested in a six-month loan back in his native Italy.
After Bayern Munich took down Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, the Bavarians are in a “out of the frying pan and into the fire” situation.
Bayern Munich will travel to Westfalenstadion to take on Borussia Dortmund and The Yellow Wall. There is no bigger event in the Bundesliga for the Hinrunde than Der Klassiker, so let’s get to it and discuss all of that and more on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show. This is what we have on tap:
- Can Bayern Munich carry the momentum from its PSG win?
- A look at the recent form of each team and where they fall in the Bundesliga table.
- A look at the rosters and injuries for Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI…will there be any rotation?
- A prediction on the match.
Reports out of Italy state that Bayern Munich (along with West Ham) are two of the clubs keeping a close eye in center-back Inter Milan:
Bayern Munich are among the teams eyeing up a move for Inter Milan defender Yann Bisseck. This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews. When Inter signed Bisseck in the summer of 2023, he was anything but a household name.
Reportedly, West Ham United made Inter an offer worth around €25 million. But the Nerazzurri rejected that bid – even if it would’ve been a significant profit.
Inter believed that Bisseck could still grow and make a big contribution this season.
So far, the 23-year-old has done just that. This has included standout performances against Manchester City and Arsenal in the Champions League. Now, the Gazzetta suggests, Bisseck’s value is no less than €40 million.
Viktor Gyökeres is one of the most sought-after strikers in the world and Sporting CP is starting to get worried about the reality of losing him:
Sporting CP are working on a contingency plan in the event a club decides to activate Viktor Gyökeres’ €100m release clause in January, A Bola reports. Sporting want to keep their leading scorer Gyökeres at least until the end of the season and the player will only leave if his release clause is met. The Lisbon club has already prepared a list of potential reinforcements should Gyökeres leave the club in the upcoming transfer window. Gyökeres, 26, is in his second season at Sporting and has a contract with the Portuguese champions through June 2028.
Bayern Munich entered its Champions League showdown with Paris Saint-Germain knowing that it needed to put away the French powerhouse.
It was a wild game, but the Bavarians did — finally — get that signature win that they desperately needed. Let’s talk about how it all went down and more on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. This is what we have on tap:
- A look at the starting XI.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
- If you were looking for entertainment, the first half had you covered with its frantic pacing.
- Kingsley Coman cannot hit the broad side of a bard, but he was giving PSG fits.
- Ousmane Dembélé’s sloppy play got him two yellow cards, which allowed Bayern Munich to just grind away at PSG.
- Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.
