Robert Lewandowski can expect a hostile reception when the striker and his new club Bayern Munich take on Borussia Dortmund in the German Supercup at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for a 6 pm CET (9.30 pm IST, 5.30 pm BST, 12.30 pm ET) start with live coverage on Neo Prime in India. Listen to the match HERE. The match will be shown live in the UK on BT Sport 1 with the live streaming option available HERE. Watch the action live online in the US on GolTV or HERE.
Lewandowski was the main man at Dortmund for four years, scoring goals left, right and centre and leading them to titles, before deciding on a controversial move to Bayern Munich, and that too on a free transfer.
The Pole's switch to Dortmund's biggest title rivals will not have sat well with the fans, and Lewandowski can expect a hostile welcome.
"Robert's a great guy," Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp said of his former player. "There'll be plenty of hugs on Wednesday."
Those hugs will only be on the pitch level, though, because once the Bayern players take field, they will know they are in enemy territory with over 80,000 supporters baying for blood.
"We are fired up for this game," Dortmund midfielder Sebastian Kehl told the club's official website. "We play at home, we want to beat them and win the first trophy of the season."
While Bayern took the domestic cup and league honours last season, Dortmund did get the better of Pep Guardiola's men in this match last year and Klopp will no doubt want a repeat.
"The Supercup means a lot," Klopp said. "We're taking it very seriously and we desperately want to win it. Games against Bayern are always special. They're the best team in the world."
Bayern, who last beat Dortmund in the German Cup final in May, are also not treating this game as a mere friendly, with Guardiola, desperate to win one of the trophies missing from his cabinet, calling it a final.
"We're playing for the first title of the season, so we'll try and win it," Guardiola said, with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer adding: "It's a final in front of a full house. It's what you look forward to as a player. We're up against our biggest rivals in Germany. We'll be taking the first competitive match very seriously and we're determined to win."
Bayern will go into this match, as well as the rest of the domestic season, as favourites again, but Dortmund, who apart from Lewandowski, have not lost any other major player, with Klopp naming Mats Hummels and Marco Reus as his captain and vice-captain respectively, will look to be more of a threat in the Bundesliga this time around.
While victory in last year's Supercup did not act as a positive omen in terms of winning the league, Dortmund will hope a victory in front of their fans on Wednesday will indeed give them that confidence that they can beat Bayern, not just in a sprint, but in a marathon as well.
Team news: Borussia Dortmund: Klopp will have to do without the services of Hummels and Reus, both of whom only just returned to training from injury, while Ilkay Gundogan, Nuri Sahin and Yakub Blaszczykowski are also ruled out. New signings Adrian Ramos, Ji Dong-Won and Ciro Immobile, though, could all feature.
Bayern Munich: most of the German national team members, who won the World Cup, will not be available, meaning Guardiola will field a team missing several key players.
