Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich: Sancho starts on the bench

Lucien Favre has made the decision to start Jadon Sancho on the bench as Borussia Dortmund gear up for their decisive title clash with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

Just four points separate the pair at the top of the table coming into this hotly contested match up and Dortmund need to, at the very least, avoid defeat if they are to deny Bayern an eighth successive Bundesliga title.

Dortmund boast the best home record in the Bundesliga, while Bayern have the best away record in Germany's top tier.

And Favre has made the decision to keep Sancho on the bench for the third game running since the Bundesliga returned over a week ago, with the Dortmund boss keeping faith in Julian Brandt and Thorgan Hazard in support of Erling Haaland.

Mats Hummels has recovered from a knock that forced him off after 45 minutes in the 2-0 win at Wolfsburg at the weekend, while January arrival Emre Can is fit enough for the bench.

For Bayern, the key absence comes in Thiago, who missed the 5-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday evening and has failed to recover in time for Der Klassiker.

Serge Gnabry returns to the starting XI after his appearance off the bench at the weekend, with Ivan Persisic dropping to the bench as a result.