A bipolar plate for a fuel cell, including a profiled anode plate and a profiled cathode plate each having an active region and two distributor regions with an anode gas main port for feeding and discharging fuel, a cathode gas main port for feeding and discharging oxidation agents, and a coolant main port for feeding and discharging coolant, these being arranged along a side edge. The bipolar plate includes distributor regions including at least one overlap section in which channels intersect one another in a non-fluidically connecting manner. The cathode gas main port is arranged between the anode gas main port and the coolant main port, cathode channels extend linearly from the port at least across the distributor region of the bipolar plate and, in a first overlap section, anode channels, and cathode channels intersect one another and form an angle of between 0° and 90°.