Guirassy injured with Guinea; Dortmund sweat as Bayern smell blood before Der Klassiker

Serhou Guirassy has withdrawn from Guinea’s camp with an injury, throwing Borussia Dortmund’s preparations for next week’s showdown with Bayern Munich into disarray. Early indications from Germany suggest his availability is highly doubtful. From a Bayern vantage point, the momentum shift is obvious: Dortmund’s marquee finisher—fresh off a 28-goal Bundesliga season in 2023/24—faces a tight turnaround that seldom favors strikers reliant on rhythm and sharpness. With Vincent Kompany’s Bayern humming through the international break, the tactical math leans their way. Even if Guirassy appears on a teamsheet, he’s unlikely to be anywhere near peak intensity.

During the international break, Guirassy departed Guinea’s national team camp after sustaining an injury. German outlet Sky Sport Germany reported uncertainty over his fitness for the Bayern clash the following week. The timing lines up with the final days of the break, when clubs assess returning players. Dortmund had integrated Guirassy as their focal No.9 following his prolific 2023/24 with Stuttgart, while Bayern, under Vincent Kompany, have been preparing for Der Klassiker with a largely settled core. The injury injects late volatility into Dortmund’s plans ahead of a marquee Bundesliga fixture.

Serhou Guirassy has left Guinea's national team with injury and it's unclear whether he will be fit in time against Bayern next week [@SkySportDE]

@iMiaSanMia

Impact Analysis

From the opponent’s desk, this is a body blow to Dortmund’s game model. Guirassy is not just a target man; he’s the release valve for their vertical surges and the finisher that turns 0.2 xG half-chances into points. Last season he supplied roughly a third of Stuttgart’s league goals—proof of elite efficiency and repeatable shot quality. Dortmund signed that certainty. Strip it out, and they’re forced into a committee approach that historically drags their shot maps wider and lowers central box touches.

Tactically, Kompany can now front-load pressure on Dortmund’s build-up, funneling possession to wide zones and daring a Plan B striker to break Bayern’s rest defense. In transition defense, Bayern can hold a slightly higher line without the same fear of Guirassy’s timing across the center-backs. Set-pieces tilt too: Guirassy’s near-post gravity is a nightmare to track; without it, Dortmund’s routines become far more readable.

Availability aside, even a “cleared” Guirassy is unlikely to carry his usual repeat-sprint load a week after a soft-tissue scare. Strikers running off the shoulder need maximal confidence in acceleration patterns; any micro-inhibition trims Dortmund’s edge. Net effect: Bayern gain clear expected-goal advantage and control more territory in the first and second phases.

Reaction

Fan sentiment tilts decisively Bayern-side. The mood music: “everything seems to be going in Bayern’s favour this season,” coupled with tongue-in-cheek jinx management—several fans won’t say a word until the international break ends. There’s a playful ruthlessness too: some insist Bayern win regardless, even hoping Guirassy is fit just to validate superiority. Others note Bayern starters are logging hard minutes while Guirassy gets an involuntary “rest,” reading it as yet another break for the champions-elect under Kompany.

There’s a slimmer counternarrative from pragmatic voices: wishing Guirassy well and downplaying the edge—football twists quickly, and fitness updates swing overnight. Still, the dominant vibe is opportunistic control. Bayern supporters see structural momentum: compact pressing lanes, crisp automatisms, and a rival suddenly robbed of its focal finisher. The restraint from a few fans—“no comments until our squad is back in München”—is more superstition than doubt. Net-net, social chatter frames this as Bayern’s window to impose their will and extend a nascent aura of inevitability.

Social reactions

I won't speak till after the international break

MICHAEL. (@FCB_MICH_AEL)

obviously he will play

xenin (@xenon_32_)

I don't want to jinx it but, everything seems to be going in Bayern's favour this season

ChroniBall XI (@chroniballXI)

Prediction

Read the timelines: leaving a national camp mid-break for an unspecified soft-tissue issue rarely resolves inside seven days at elite load. Expect Dortmund to list Guirassy as a late fitness test, then either bench him or cap his minutes. My projection: 2–4 weeks to full match rhythm, even if he appears earlier. For Der Klassiker, that means reduced explosiveness, fewer repeat sprints across the blindside, and lower aerial aggression on first-contact balls.

Bayern will choke central access, trust their counter-press to trap Dortmund’s makeshift nine, and force longer deliveries that Davies/Laimer can sweep up. If Guirassy is absent, Dortmund will lean on shot volume from wide and hope for a set-piece break—low-percentage routes against a Bayern side trending up defensively. The likeliest script: Bayern score first, control variance, and squeeze the match state. Should Guirassy start, expect an early substitution window if Dortmund trail. Either way, the edge sits firmly in Munich’s column this week—and possibly the next couple as Dortmund recalibrate workloads.

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Conclusion

Strip the sentimentality: this is the precise swing fixture where availability equals advantage. Dortmund bought Guirassy to win narrow margins; now, at the first razor’s edge of the campaign, that margin is compromised. Even an optimistic clearance doesn’t restore the micro-timing a striker needs after an interruption—stuttered accelerations and cautious decelerations shave off the 5% that decides outcomes.

Bayern, conversely, gain permission to be braver. Kompany can lock the half-spaces, press higher on Dortmund’s pivots, and prioritize first contact in both boxes without the usual Guirassy contingency. The ripple extends beyond 90 minutes: if he’s managed conservatively, Dortmund’s next fixtures absorb the aftershock, and their attacking ecosystem must stretch in ways it’s not yet rehearsed.

Bottom line: unless something dramatically shifts in medical reports, the competitive balance tips Bayern. Dortmund will talk “group solutions,” but in matches of inches, you need the closer. Right now, Bayern hold the hammer.