Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich: Picking a Combined XI Ahead of Der Klassiker

Der Klassiker is a fixture that seldom disappoints, and even with no fans in Signal Iduna Park to bear witness on Tuesday evening, it still promises to be....well, a classic.

Bayern Munich can effectively kill off Dortmund's title challenge with a win, while a home victory will take Lucien Favre's side to just a point off their rivals at the top of the table.

As we look forward eagerly to the biggest football match in what seems like an eternity, the only sensible thing to do is to form a dream XI from the best players fit and available for the upcoming fixture for both sides.

Bayern and BVB combined – let's get right into it...

GK – Manuel Neuer

Closing in on 100 caps for Germany and 400 for Bayern Munich, Neuer is one of the most experienced goalkeepers of his generation, and easily one of the best.

At 34, he is still doing what made him so respected in his early 20s – making himself big, spreading himself, and springing to the corners of his goal when he looks odds on to concede.

With a new contract signed, even the threat of the incoming Alexander Nubel doesn't appear to daunt Neuer.

He's a player for the big occasion and the best goalkeeper Dortmund and Bayern can conjure up between them by a country mile.

RB – Achraf Hakimi

How lovely that Real Madrid can solve their right-back issues at the click of their fingers next season - and for free! For the moment though, Achraf Hakimi is a Borussia Dortmund player, and an exceedingly good one.

Just like his teammate Raphaël Guerreiro on the other side, Hakimi is so attack-minded that he can play as a right-back, right-sided wing-back or even as a right-winger. He has a whopping four goals in eight matches in the Champions League this season, headlined by his signature low finish struck across the goalkeeper's body.

10 assists in 27 Bundesliga outings this term isn't half bad either.

CB – Manuel Akanji

Switzerland international Manuel Akanji has been a brilliant workhorse at the back for Dortmund this season, following a difficult start at the club, allowing Favre's side to transition the ball quickly, but still adept at the less glamorous and more dogged sides to defending.

Some huge names miss out on a spot at the heart of this defence, and that is absolutely to Akanji's credit.

CB – David Alaba

Already one of the best left-backs in all of football, Alaba has (as needs must) redefined himself as one of the Bundesliga's best central defenders this season.

The star man for Austria (where he has often played in a more advanced role), he's keeping genuine centre-backs out, and you wonder whether Nicklas  Süle will find it as easy as he hoped to walk back into the first team when he recovers from his long-term cruciate ligament injury.

LB – Raphaël Guerreiro

A French-born Portugal international, Guerreiro is one of a glut of Dortmund players that just fit the system Favre plays down to the ground.

A winner of both Euro 2016 and the 2019 Nations League with Portugal, his Dortmund statistics are incredible – in keeping with nearly all of his teammates; eight goals and three assists in 31 Bundesliga games this season. He's a carbon copy of Hakimi on the other flank.

Even wonderkid Alphonso Davies has had to take a place on the hypothetical bench for now.

CM – Joshua Kimmich

Joshua Kimmich is a freak of nature. Not only is he arguably the world's best right-back, he's also the arguably the best defensive midfielder too.

Kimmich made his name at RB Leipzig when they were first becoming a notable force in German force, before transferring to Bayern in 2016 when he was still just 19.

A four-time Bundesliga winner already, it'll be five if he and Bayern get it right at the tail end of this season.

CM – Emre Can

A former Bayern player, Emre Can doesn't stick around at clubs for too long, but he does offer every employer the same commitment, quality and occasional absolute wonder goal.

The former Liverpool man joined Dortmund on loan from Juventus in January, and he has been a star for Favre's side.

Can is one of football's most versatile players, but he is top central midfielder above all else.

RW – Jadon Sancho

Perhaps only since Erling Braut Haaland joined his team has there been a player in the Bundesliga that people want to watch as much as England international Jadon Sancho.

In his last two seasons, Sancho's contribution to BVB in the league has been startling – 26 goals and 34 assists in less than 60 games. An incredible return from a player who played over 97% of those matches as a teenager.

With 30 goal contributions this season alone, only Robert Lewandowski can match the youngster for combined goals and assists.

CAM – Thomas Müller

It has been four years since Thomas Müller hit double figures in goals for Bayern in a single league season. But he did hit 20 that year and, besides, that isn't really why each and every manager that takes over the Bavarian giants seems to trust him implicitly.

The 'space invader' has wonderful awareness, his assists numbers are always high and his play is unselfish.

With 11 goals in all competitions in 2019/20, Muller is enjoying one of his most productive campaigns in recent years and proving that it's not all downhill at 30.

LW – Serge Gnabry

Tony Pulis didn't trust him very much and he struggled to break through at Arsenal, but Serge Gnabry is making all his ex-managers look very foolish indeed.

Now 24, the winger is closing in on world-class status at Bayern, with an impressive 11 goals and nine assists in 25 outings so far in 2019/20. Meanwhile, he boasts a frankly ridiculous 13 goals in 13 Germany international appearances.

In Europe, Gnabry also (almost single-handedly) dispatched Tottenham and Chelsea in the Champions League this season, with six goals in two stunning individual performances.

ST – Robert Lewandowski

Haaland (obviously) deserves a shoutout, but not even he can be too gutted about missing out to the greatest striker in the world right now.

Lewandowski (one of two men to play for both clubs in this lineup) was a phenomenal forward for Borussia Dortmund, but he has gone to even greater heights in Bavaria.

He has 41 goals in 35 games this season and may even be a strong contender for the Ballon d'Or in a weird year - especially if Bayern scoop the treble.