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Champions League finalists Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will meet again in the German Supercup at Dortmund's Westfalenstadion on Saturday, two weeks before the start of the Bundesliga season.
The match, which will be broadcast live in 195 countries, is a sell-out and sees the clubs, who finished first and second in the Bundesliga table, play for the first official title of the season.
Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, who saw his new team beat his former team Barcelona 2-0 at home in a friendly on Tuesday night, again played captain Philipp Lahm in midfield.
Lahm opened the scoring after 14 minutes, heading home a Franck Ribery cross, with Mario Mandzukic adding a late second.
In the second half, Bastian Schweinsteiger returned to the team after surgery, and said afterwards that the clash with Dortmund would be a memorable occasion.
"It will not be easy for us, but we are looking forward to it," he said. "It is something special, also because of the fact that, over the last few years, Dortmund have just got better and better.
"You have to take your hat off to how this team has developed. If you look back at where Dortmund were a few years ago, and consider how they interpret football now, you have to show a lot of respect for that."
Bayern won the German Supercup with a 2-1 victory against the same opponents this time last year, and Schweinsteiger said: "We always want to win everything there is. That's why it is important to win in Dortmund. But it is even more important we play the football our coach wants us to play."
"This game has nothing do with the Champions League final," Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller said. His words were echoed by centre-back Mats Hummels, who said: "This is not about revenge. We don't draw our motivation from a lost final.
"Bayern are one of the top three teams in the world, maybe even the best. If we win it, this might be a signal of how successful this season could be."
Dortmund are likely to be without Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Jakub Blaszczykowski.
Mkhitaryan suffered an ankle injury only a week after joining the club, while former St Etienne attacker Aubameyang and Poland captain Blaszczykowski have both been suffering from flu.
Former Dortmund star Mario Gotze will not travel to Dortmund, Bild reports. Gotze was subjected to internet abuse after his €37 million move to the treble-winners, and it has been decided that he will stay in Munich.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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