Little-known Mitch Langerak could play a key role in possibly the biggest match of the Bundesliga season when Bayern Munich hosts leader Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Australian could make his Bundesliga debut as Dortmund's goalkeeper at the Allianz Arena.
Regular goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller is injured and looks likely to miss the match that Bayern needs to win to stay in the hunt for the championship.
"Mitch would be completely capable to stepping in for Roman for a while," Dortmund goalkeeper coach Teddy de Beer said.
Weidenfeller, who plays behind the best defense in the Bundesliga with only 13 goals conceded in 23 games, injured his left knee in practice this week and will have a late fitness test before a decision is made.
Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp was relaxed about the situation, joking, "we'll throw a few balls at him (Weidenfeller) in the hotel on Saturday and see if he can play."
Langerak, who played for Melbourne Victory, signed for Dortmund before the season started and was seen as an investment in the future. He has only one official appearance for Dortmund's reserve side and has never played in the Bundesliga.
Bayern is at the turning point of its season. The team won at Inter Milan 1-0 on Wednesday, putting itself in a good position to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League over a team it lost to in last season's final.
Next week, Bayern plays Schalke in the German Cup semifinals.
Bayern's already slim chances of defending the Bundesliga title would be all but over if it doesn't beat Dortmund on Saturday.
Bayern is 13 points behind now and unless it cuts the gap on Saturday, it's hard to see how it could still claim the title in the 10 matches remaining.
Dortmund and Bayern also have the league's top-scoring attack and Langerak could be making his debut against the league leading scorer Mario Gomez (18 goals), plus the likes of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.
Bayern switched goalkeepers during the midseason break and 22-year-old Thomas Kraft distinguished himself in Milan against Inter.
Bayern's bosses believe their side is the favorite.
"We have the better team," Bayern president Uli Hoeness said.
Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin said his team was under no pressure.
"We've produced so much throughout the season already. There is no doubt the two best teams in Germany are playing against each other," Sahin said.
That could be questioned by Bayer Leverkusen, which is second in the standings and 10 points behind Dortmund - and three points ahead of Bayern.
Leverkusen travels Sunday to Werder Bremen, which is trying to reverse its free fall and avoid slipping into the relegation zone.
Wolfsburg, another former champion seeking to stave off relegation, opens the 24th round Friday at home against bottom-place Borussia Moenchengladbach. Stuttgart, which is equal on points with Moenchengladbach, travels to slumping Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
Also Saturday, it's: Schalke vs. Nuremberg; Hoffenheim vs. Mainz; Cologne vs. Freiburg; Kaiserslautern vs. Hamburger SV; and St. Pauli vs. Hannover.
