Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich welcome Thomas Tuchel's Borussia Dortmund to the Allianz Arena in Der Klassiker on Sunday looking to continue a record-breaking run of form early in the new season.
Visiting BVB, meanwhile, have enjoyed an impressive start under their new boss, but will be trying to bounce back from two consecutive draws in the German top flight.
Bayern Munich
© Getty Images
Pep Guardiola's charges have started the new season in blistering form, having broken the record for a best start last set by themselves back in the 2012-13 campaign.
The Munich club have notched an unbroken 21 points from seven games, while managing to put together a goal difference of plus 20 in the early part of the new term.
Guardiola will undoubtedly be happy with the acquisitions of Arturo Vidal and Douglas Costa over the summer, but what might please him more is the current form of lead striker Robert Lewandowski and the return to action of Javi Martinez.
Thanks in part to Lewandowski's form, FCB have put together 23 goals already and the Polish forward has scored 10 of those. The club has also conceded just three goals in seven matches in the league and will be riding high on confidence going into Der Klassiker on Sunday.
Bayern were last in action in the Champions League earlier this week when they put five past a lowly Dinamo Zagreb on home soil, in a game that sought to build on a 3-0 away demolition of Mainz 05 a few days before in the Bundesliga.
FCB have only ever gone as far as eight games unbeaten without dropping a point once, back in 2012-13, and Guardiola will be hoping that his charges can continue their current form at the weekend in order to match that feat.
Recent form: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Borussia Dortmund
© AFP
Rising thinker Tuchel has enjoyed an impressive start to life at the helm of Dortmund, after producing five consecutive wins to start the new Bundesliga season. Those five victories were also part of a wider 11-game winning streak for the new coach inclusive of contests in all competitions.
The wins included impressive routs over Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen, but BVB have come unstuck following two lacklustre draws in their last two league outings.
In their last game against plucky SV Darmstadt 98, Tuchel's men had looked on course to complete a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang-inspired comeback on home soil, only to fall foul to a late leveller from Aytac Sulu.
Dortmund's new coach will be hoping that his players can bounce straight back by claiming the bragging rights on Sunday, and he decided to rest much of his team for the club's recent Europa League clash away at Greek side PAOK on Thursday.
Despite their past two league draws, Dortmund fans will be rather happy that the transition from Jurgen Klopp to Tuchel has been arguably seamless, and that the club have not been left floundering at the lower end of the table like at the start of last season.
Borussia have made some good signings over the summer by bringing in youngster Julian Weigl to help foster some long-term development, while the additions of Gonzalo Castro and Park Joo-ho have added some depth in key areas.
What might be most pleasing for Dortmund, however, is their ability to retain some of their key group players in the shape of Aubameyang, Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who all appear to be providing dividends already this season.
Tuchel has so far impressed fans during his introduction to the job at BVB and he will be hoping that he can write himself into folklore early on by winning Der Klassiker at the first attempt.
Recent form: WWWWDD
Recent form (all competitions): WWWDDD
Team News
© Getty Images
Bayern are currently waiting to see if Vidal is fit in time to make a start, but if not they could either bring in Mario Gotze or Bernat in the middle.
Munich fans might also get the chance to see key winger Arjen Robben should he recover in time from a muscle injury, although Mehdi Benatia, Frank Ribery and Holger Badstuber all remain out with long-term issues.
Martinez will be hoping to keep his place in the centre of defence alongside Jerome Boateng, with Philipp Lahm and David Alaba in the full-back positions.
Tuchel will likely keep his team unchanged following the draw against Darmstadt, meaning that Jonas Hofmann and Adnan Januzaj will be BVB's first attacking choices off the substitutes' bench.
The coach has preferred a centre-back pairing between Mats Hummels and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, although Neven Subotic will be looking to push for a place at the back.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Alaba, Boateng, Martínez, Lahm; Vidal, Alonso, Alcantara; Costa, Lewandowski, Muller
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Burki; Schmelzer, Hummels,Sokratis, Ginter; Weigl, Mkhitaryan; Kagawa, Gundogan, Reus; Aubameyang
Head To Head
The two clubs last met in the semi-final of the DFB Pokal earlier this year when Dortmund were able to win out on penalties. The last Der Klassiker in the Bundesliga took place in Dortmund, where Munich were able to snatch a 2-1 win. In the earlier incarnation of the fixture on Bayern soil, Guardiola's men completed a 2-1 win at the Allianz. Dortmund's finest hour in recent years arguably came in 2014, when a Klopp-led BVB completed an empathic 3-0 away win over Munich in the Bavarian capital.
We say: Bayern Munich 3-1 Borussia Dortmund
Bayern go into this fixture off the back of some almost legendary form in the Bundesliga and they will be confident of getting a win to move themselves seven points clear at the top of the table. Guardiola has built strength in depth all over the pitch, and he finds a number of his players in sparkling form as they welcome Tuchel's men on Sunday. Dortmund have been impressive this campaign too, but have drawn three straight games in all competitions and could come unstuck against a Bayern side looking to continue a standout run.
Christopher Dodd
