It’s Der Klassiker time, and the two teams are tearing it up atop of the Bundesliga.
Bayern are perfect so far, Dortmund are unbeaten and stubborn, and the Allianz will look like someone turned the saturation up on red and yellow. One of these streaks is going to snap. Maybe. Probably. And yet, there’s a chance it turns into one of those pulse-spiking draws that leaves everyone talking anyway.
Everything you need to know about Bayern vs. Dortmund
The Bundesliga run-in
Saturday in Munich brings first against second. Bayern have won six out of six in the league and ten from ten across competitions, scoring for fun and barely conceding. Dortmund are four points adrift, still unblemished, more pragmatic than last season yet far from dull. It isn’t quite a title decider in October, but it is the type of marker that echoes in April.
The recent head-to-heads are spicier than the clichés suggest. Bayern haven’t beaten Dortmund in the last three league meetings. A draw in April, another in November before that, and a Dortmund win in March 2024 that briefly made the Allianz feel like a library. Before that, Bavaria did plenty of bullying. This rivalry moves in waves. It’s mid-set again.
Team News
Bayern’s bad news has been surprisingly survivable. Jamal Musiala remains on the mend after his summer leg and ankle break, working toward a winter return. Josip Stanišić will not make it. Raphaël Guerreiro is a doubt after individual sessions this week. The good piece: Harry Kane returned from England duty sharp and unbothered, and the spine around him looks intact enough to maintain the rhythm.
Dortmund’s headline is a sigh of relief. Serhou Guirassy trained fully after a thigh scare on international duty and has been cleared. Nico Schlotterbeck had a pesky cold, but the expectation is he suits up. Emre Can is still out long term. Jadon Duranville and young defender Agustín Anselmino remain sidelined. There are enough moving parts that Niko Kovač may keep his full-back choices conservative, but the big call up front appears simple. If Guirassy is ready, he plays.
Ahead of tonight’s Der Klassiker, here are five players who among others played for both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Recognize them all? pic.twitter.com/B6gOf0qKER
— 365Scores (@365Scores) April 12, 2025
Form guide: two streaks enter
Let’s call Bayern’s start what it is. Authoritative. Vincent Kompany has added clarity without sanding off the team’s swagger. They press in coordinated bursts, then calm the game with Joshua Kimmich’s metronome and Leon Goretzka’s straight-line carry. The attack is loud and varied. Michael Olise drops into pockets to dribble diagonally. Luis Díaz gives true width and real chaos. Kane hunts in the spaces that matter and finishes like he is paid by the decimal point. Eleven league goals already for the No 9. That is not normal. Neither is hitting at least three in seven straight league matches (stretching to last season), which is where Bayern currently sit.
Dortmund feel like a reboot. Kovač has made them meaner between the boxes. Compact without retreating. The front line runs hard into channels rather than rotating for the sake of it, and second balls are treated like treasure. They opened with that 3-3 at St Pauli when absolutely everything broke loose, then tightened the screws. Two-nil away wins, controlled pressure, a goalkeeper in Gregor Kobel who plays like he’s late for nothing. It is not a vintage BVB side for romance merchants, but it is one that wins habits as much as matches.
Our top 10 attacking stars to rank in the highest Average Impact Rating!
— 365Scores (@365Scores) October 1, 2025
Vitinha surprisingly making the top 5 as the only midfielder, while Harry Kane leads the pack by a mile. pic.twitter.com/CQwN8xa0lw
Key players: stars with different jobs
Harry Kane is the obvious headline, so let’s get the numbers out and move on. Eleven in six in the league, eighteen in all comps. He is not simply padding totals. He’s arguably still the best striker in the world. Kane fixes centre backs in place, which creates daylight for Olise to carry and for Díaz to isolate a full back. The triangles on the right with Kimmich and Sacha Boey have been devastating. If Bayern score early, it’s usually because those three found the tempo before anyone else.
Messi’s epic 2011/12 season was the benchmark. Harry Kane has just surpassed it.
— 365Scores (@365Scores) October 2, 2025
Harry Kane has reached 20 goal contributions in the fewest minutes EVER, having registered 17 goals and 3 assists in just 742 minutes.
He takes the record off Lionel Messi by just 7 minutes, which… pic.twitter.com/FpyDoFQxcY
On the other side, Guirassy has become Dortmund’s gold bar. He attacks the near post with appetite, rides contact, and finishes from awkward body shapes that most strikers would hate. Karim Adeyemi has rediscovered his straight-line menace. Julian Brandt, when involved, stitches phases together with disguised passes that make space appear where there wasn’t any. And keep an eye on Yan Couto at right back. He’s become a proper outlet, marrying energy with better final balls.
Tactical battles
Bayern’s first test is the BVB press. Kovač will not commit bodies high just to look brave, but he will bait mistakes where the risk is worth it. That means timing the jump toward Kimmich, denying the bounce-back pass into Neuer, and forcing Dayot Upamecano to play quicker diagonals. If Bayern beat the first wave, the gaps behind Dortmund’s eights become live. That is Olise country.
Dortmund’s route to real chances often begins with early deliveries into Guirassy, then quick swarm support. Look for Marcel Sabitzer lurking on the edge, prepared to recycle or shoot. If Bayern’s full backs both attack at once, the switch into Adeyemi’s lane is on. Small detail, big swing: Bayern have loved sliding Konrad Laimer into hybrid roles that close counters before they become scary. If Laimer wins his duels, Dortmund will need a craftier build than usual.
Key Der Klassiker Statistics
Bayern have conceded only three goals in the league. That is not just Neuer wizardry or a purple patch for the centre backs. It is the spacing between lines and the team’s habit of killing counters at source. They have scored 25 league goals already, a record tally at this stage, and hit three or more in seven consecutive Bundesliga games.
Dortmund have scored in fourteen straight league matches. They are happy grinders away from home, allowing only a handful of shots on target in their last two road wins. And here’s a quirk that shapes the psychology. Bayern have not beaten BVB in three league tries, which rewires the usual aura just a little.
By Nicky Helfgott – NickyHelfgott1 on X (Twitter)
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