Borussia Dortmund have not had success in Der Klassiker matchers at the Allianz Arena in recent seasons. The yellow and black have lost on two straight trips to Munich by a combined scoreline of 11-0.
Bayern Munich will hope to put a difficult few weeks behind them and inflict another Der Klassiker nightmare on their biggest rivals on Saturday evening. The two sides are in the mix for the Bundesliga title and are both chasing league leaders Borussia Monchengladbach.
Lucien Favre’s Borussia Dortmund have collected 19 points from 30 possible. They have lost just once in their last 12 matches in all competitions and are unbeaten in six straight Bundesliga games.
Bayern Munich, on the other hand, go into their first league match under interim coach Hans-Dieter Flick, who took over for Niko Kovac after his sacking this week. Kovac was let go following Bayern Munich’s humiliating 5-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend.
Despite Bayern Munich’s heavy loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, just four points separate them from league leaders Borussia Monchengladbach. The Bundesliga table is incredibly close right now with first place and ninth separated by just five points.
Borussia Dortmund may have lost by big scorelines against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on their last two visits, but they did defeat this weekend’s hosts to kick off the season. Borussia Dortmund defeated Bayern Munich at the Signal Iduna Park 2-0 in August to claim the German Super Cup.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has bagged 21 goals in 17 matches in all competitions. He is likely to get on the scoresheet for Bayern Munich against his former side. Lewandowski scored in the Champions League in midweek helping Bayern Munich reach the last 16 with two games to spare.
Flick has defensive issues as Niklas Sule and Lucas Hernandez are out with injuries. Jerome Boateng was sent off against Eintracht Frankfurt and will miss Der Klassiker. Midfielder Alphonso Davies may be used as a makeshift left-back.
Favre isn't expected to have Jadon Sancho for the game after a thigh injury sidelined him this week. Thorgan Hazard and Achraf Hakimi should play on the wings with the latter in fantastic form. Marco Reus is fit and was rested in midweek against Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Bayern Munich can lay down a marker that last week’s 5-1 loss was an anomaly. Saturday’s game against Borussia Dortmund won’t see a large scoreline like in the last two seasons but it will see a Bayern Munich win with over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring.