Like the rest of Germany, Europe and the world, Lothar Matthäus cannot wait for Saturday's top-of-the-table clash between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München
Like the rest of Germany, Europe and the world, Lothar Matthäus cannot wait for Saturday's top-of-the-table clash between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München

Matthäus: 'One the whole country can't wait for'

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Cologne - Lothar Matthäus, Karl-Heinz Riedle, Thomas Doll and Ulf Kirsten were under the spotlight again last weekend as the 'German Legends' defeated a 'World Select XI' in a penalty shoot-out in Cologne, but they leave the limelight to some of today's legends next weekend.

After 90 gruelling minutes - plus penalties - the former glories cast an eye ahead to next weekend's Bundesliga summit between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München.

Lothar Matthäus: From a neutral's point of view I'd be hoping for a Dortmund win, just to keep the title race a bit more exciting. Bayern are four points in front – victory in this one would take them seven points clear and there'd be a danger of things getting a bit one-sided. At the end of the day, the best team should win the title, and that's probably Bayern. But in terms of keeping things interesting, a win for Dortmund would be good for the Bundesliga.

In a one-off contest, Dortmund are always capable of beating FC Bayern. Over the course of a 34-game campaign, Bayern are likely to be more consistent. They wouldn't suffer the kind of loss Borussia did last time out at Wolfsburg. At the end of the day, those are the details that make the difference.

I'm looking forward to an exciting game, and one played in the right spirit as well, regardless of the high stakes. This one's about prestige as well as points, it's as much of a classic in Germany as the games between Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. This is one the whole country can't wait for.

Ulf Kirsten: The game will show who comes out of the international break in the best shape. It would be nice if Dortmund would get something in order to keep things exciting up at the top. Dortmund have looked good each time they've played Bayern in recent years and so they can be confident. Since they are shaking a bit, though, maybe Leverkusen could get into the hunt for second. I think Bayern are going to pull away and leave them both vying for second and third.

Karl-Heinz Riedle: I think BVB can win it. That's what I'd like to see anyway. Then the Bundesliga will remain exciting. They've got a great team who are playing excellently again this season. Really, they've got to win, or else Bayern are gone.

Thomas Doll: In just one game, anybody can beat Bayern, but of course you've got to have a perfect day just to be on a par with them. Everything's got to come together and you need a lot of luck, while you've also got to hope that Bayern have an off day. Anything's possible. Dortmund are an exceptional team, they've just had a bad week. Before that, they won at Arsenal and Schalke. There are always ups and downs in football and I hope it turns out to be a spectacular match.

Compiled by Markus Hoffmann in Cologne