This Saturday, as the clock strikes 3:30 p.m. CET, the Allianz Arena will set the stage for the 138th installment of one of football’s most anticipated matchups: Bayern Munich versus Borussia Dortmund, known to fans worldwide as Der Klassiker. However, whether this encounter will live up to its storied name remains in question. Historically, Bayern has been the dominant force, clinching victory in the majority of their recent meetings. Out of the last 26 clashes, Dortmund has claimed victory only four times, with six matches ending in a stalemate, leaving the rest firmly in Bayern’s favor.

For Dortmund to find a consistent winning streak against Bayern, one must journey back to the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons. During that period, under the guidance of Jürgen Klopp, Dortmund momentarily disrupted Bayern’s stronghold on the Bundesliga. This brief interlude saw Dortmund triumph in four consecutive Klassikers, a feat that feels distant amidst Bayern’s continued dominance.

In response to Dortmund’s challenge, Bayern Munich retaliated with a vengeance. The 2012/13 season saw them secure a historic treble, kickstarting an era that has seen them capture the Bundesliga title for 11 consecutive years. Within this timeframe, Dortmund managed to secure only two victories on Bayern’s turf: a 3-0 win in the 2013/14 season and a 2-0 victory in 2024.

Interestingly, Dortmund’s triumph over Bayern in March 2024 played a pivotal role in unseating Bayern’s longstanding Bundesliga supremacy. Yet, it wasn’t Dortmund who seized the championship that year. Instead, Bayer Leverkusen, under the stewardship of Xabi Alonso, emerged as the surprise victors, claiming the league title.

As the current season unfolds, Bayern Munich appears poised to extend their dominance. The Rekordmeister has stormed through the league, winning all six of their matches with an astonishing tally of 25 goals—an average of 4.166 goals per game. To put this in perspective, the next highest-scoring team, Eintracht Frankfurt, has netted 17 goals, while Dortmund and Leverkusen trail with 12 goals each.

This year, Bayern once again looks to dominate the Bundesliga. The Rekordmeister has won all six of its games in the league and has scored an incredible 25 goals. That’s 4.166 games per game.

Just to put that in perspective, the next best team in goalscoring is Eintracht Frankfurt with 17. Dortmund, together with Leverkusen, ranks third with 12 goals scored to start the season.

That contrast is also highlighted by the two clubs’ top goalscorers. While Harry Kane has had an incredible start to the season, scoring 11 goals in his first six Bundesliga games this season, Dortmund’s top goalscorer Serhou Guirassy has somewhat struggled, scoring just four goals in his first five games.

“At the moment, Harry is leading, but we are of course trying to push Serhou forward as well,” Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac said in an interview with Bundesliga.com (cited by Gegenpressing). Why has Guirassy struggled? “At the moment, he tends to set up goals rather than score them himself, but that will come again. We know exactly how important Serhou is for us.”

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While Kane has been scoring goal after goal after goal, Dortmund’s star striker has been struggling to find last year’s form. Some of it might be down to fitness. Guirassy missed the World Cup qualifiers for his country, Guinea, but did train for Dortmund this week.

The return of the star striker to form would be a massive asset for Dortmund. But even with Guirassy misfiring, Dortmund has emerged as Bayern’s only challenger in the Bundesliga this season.

Can Serhou Guirassy regain his goalscoring form? (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)

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Much of that is down to Kovac’s tactical discipline. Dortmund has conceded just four goals this season. Only Bayern (three goals) ranks ahead of Dortmund in that statistic. Three of those goals came in a single game—the chaotic 3-3 draw against St. Pauli on matchday 1.

Defensive stability has become crucial for Dortmund under Kovac. The Croatian bench boss has established a 3-4-2-1 system in which both wing-backs help stabilize the defensive lineup.

Indeed, while there has been significant focus on the matchup between Guirassy and Kane, the focus should be on Dortmund’s Daniel Svensson. The Swede has quietly become one of Dortmund’s most important players, leading the league in distance covered and intensive runs.

Svensson holds together both the backline and is an important player to get the attack rolling. The ability to transition the ball forward quickly has helped the likes of Karim Adeyemi and Maximilian Beier to unleash their full potential this season.

As for Bayern, make no mistake, the Rekordmeister will be the absolute favorite at the Allianz Arena in Munich this Saturday. Much of that is down to Kane. The England captain has been one of Europe’s best players this season.

Not only has Kane scored 11 Bundesliga goals, but tallied 21 goals and provided four assists in 15 games across all club competitions. On top of that, Kane also scored a brace in England’s 5-0 win over Latvia midweek.

Stopping Kane will be a priority for Dortmund, but it won’t be enough. After all, the addition of Luis Díaz has provided Bayern Munich with an asset that was missing last season. The Colombian’s pressing play is a great compliment to Michael Olise and allows Kane to operate even deeper and be more dangerous from different moments.

Overall, this Bayern Munich attack has become a machine. Stopping it will be Kovac’s main task this Saturday. It seems almost an impossible task.