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Defence
Abdou Diallo
Quite frankly there is just one name, Achraf Hakimi, that comes to the mind when talking about left backs amongst the two teams, but unfortunately, that man is out for the season after suffering an injury.
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Amongst the Bayern Munich side, there is just David Alaba, but the Austrian has been a mere shadow of himself this season and has failed to live up to his credentials. On the other hand, the Borussia Dortmund has replaced the injured Hakimi with Abdou Diallo, who has had a brilliant season so far at the heart of the Dortmund defence. The versatility and the poor form of Alaba put Diallo in front of the Austrian.
The Frenchman has made 23 appearances in the league and averages 1.5 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per 90 mins. The 22-year old also has a 59% success in duels and has a goal and an assist to his name.
Manuel Akanji
The star man in the Dortmund defence and the best defender amongst the two teams this season. If not for the injury setbacks, Akanji would have played much more than his 18 appearances.
The Swiss international has been colossal at the heart of the Dortmund defence forming an impressive partnership with Abdou Diallo and later Dan Axel-Zagadou. Manuel Obafemi Akanji has averaged 1 tackle and 1.3 interceptions per 90 minutes while also recording an impressive 61.3% victories in duels.
The Swiss international also has a goal to his name.
Niklas Sule
The future of Bayern's central defence, Niklas Sule has been the pick of the Bayern defence this defence with Jerome Boateng miles behind his usual self as well as Mats Hummels. The season has seen the Boateng-Hummels pairing showing clear signs of decline coinciding with Bayern Munich's poor start to the season.
The 23-year old has made 24 appearances for the Bavarian giants and has averaged 0.8 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per 90 minutes. The most impressive aspect of German has been his passing with a success rate of 94.5%. Sule has also an impressive 64.2% success rate in duels.
The German international has a goal to his name.
Joshua Kimmich
The rightful heir to the throne left by Philip Lahm, Joshua Kimmich is still a work in progress and a long way off the standards kept by his predecessor.
That said Kimmich has had an impressive season so far with most of the Bayern Munich attack flowing the right flank and orchestrated by the 24-year old.
Arguably the best right back in the world at the moment, Joshua Kimmich has made an appearance in every single match for the Bavarian giants and averages 1.1 tackles and 1 interception per 90 mins.
It is the German internationals offensive side that has been the impressive feat with 10 assists and 2 goals to his name. The right-back is the second leading assist maker in the league and also has a 91.2% pass success rate while averaging 2 key passes per 90 minutes.
