Bayern y Dortmund, duelo igualado en el Klassiker

¿Quién se llevará la ventaja en el primer Klassiker del año? Bayern acoge al Dortmund este sábado, con ambos equipos igualados en puntos en la cima de la tabla. El encuentro podría definir la temporada.

<!–>

Before last term’s first Klassiker on Matchday 7, Bayern had already opened a four-point gap over BVB, and their 2-1 win put them seven points ahead. Dortmund improved as the season went on, but by the time the teams had played their final fixture, Bayern were 16 points clear of their closest challengers.

This term, though, only goal difference separates them after seven matchdays, and much of that is down to Dortmund’s solidity. No side has conceded fewer than their four league goals so far this term.

–><!–>

Under Niko Kovač, the key elements of Dortmund’s backline have emerged. Gregor Kobel, between the sticks, is now one of the team’s elder statesmen and leads by example in character and performance.

He has already kept a league-high five clean sheets, following on from 2025/26’s table-topping 15, and has an extraordinary save rate of 82 percent. And against Bayern, he has something to prove, having failed to win any of his 10 Bundesliga fixtures against the Bavarians.

In front of him, Nico Schlotterbeck has established himself as one of Europe’s most reliable defenders, even after a serious injury derailed his FIFA World Cup campaign with Germany. He, too, is now an important voice in the dressing room, taking on the captain’s armband in Emre Can’s absence, and has embodied Kovač’s style on the pitch.

–><!–>

Gregor Kobel leads the way with five Bundesliga clean sheets this season. – Bundesliga/Getty Images/Christian Kaspar-Bartke –><!–>

He missed the first two games of the season as he finished his recovery, but has since won a team-high 67 percent of his duels, forming a strong connection with Waldemar Anton at the heart of the defence.

Alongside him on the right is Julian Ryerson. After last season’s incredible haul of 15 Bundesliga assists, second only to Bayern’s Michael Olise, he hasn’t been quite as creative and is still waiting to set up his first goal, but he has still delivered a league-high 34 crosses.

From his and Dortmund’s perspective, the issue is the lack of options to get on the end of those deliveries into dangerous areas. Serhou Guirassy remains BVB’s talisman, yet while he has scored four in three UEFA Champions League games, he has found the back of the net just twice in the league.

–><!–>