League leaders Bayern Munich host second-place Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, with both teams unbeaten after opening the season in fine form.
Bayern won 10 out of 10 in all competitions, scoring 36 goals and conceding seven.
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Star striker Harry Kane is arguably in the best form of his career.
The 32-year-old, who scored a brace in England's 5-0 win over Latvia on Tuesday, has 18 goals and three assists in those 10 appearances for Bayern.
While Bayern have stormed to the top of the Bundesliga and Champions League standings, Dortmund are quietly preparing a strong debut of their own.
Dortmund are unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions and are four points behind second-place Bayern.
Niko Kovac, now Bayern's head coach, a two-time winner at Bayern and sacked six months later, said his team must be brave in Munich.
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“It will be difficult if we play too carefully,” Kovac said on Thursday. “Just defending yourself won’t work. We respect each other, but we need to take the initiative.
“If we play like we did last year in Munich, we will have a good chance, but we need to be brave.
“We see the form Bayern are in. It's unusual for a team to perform so well.”
The match, called “Classiker”, designed to repeat La Liga's El Clasico, began to spell the end of Dortmund's championship ambitions.
Dortmund have lost eight of their last ten matches against Bayern Munich.
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But Dortmund have their best result against the Bavarians since Jurgen Klopp.
Dortmund have won one and drawn two of their last three games against Bayern, including a 2-0 win at the Allianz Arena in 2024.
Now running the show at Red Bull, the parent company of rivals RB Leipzig, Klopp himself will not be involved.
Speaking from the Spanish island of Mallorca, where he spends most of his time, former Liverpool coach Klopp told German broadcaster RTL on Thursday that he “probably won't have time” to watch.
“If I didn’t have to work, I would definitely watch the game.”
Who to watch: Loïc Bade (Bayer Leverkusen)
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After a tumultuous summer of recovery that saw the arrival of around a dozen new signings, France centre-back Loïc Badet has quickly established himself at the heart of Bayer Leverkusen's defence.
Bade, 25, is a confident central defender, showing composure and control over a team in transition.
Praising his “amazing” performance on the pitch, Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes told AFP on Thursday that “it's also very important, as is the way he carries himself off the pitch.”
“He is the glue in the dressing room in terms of language, but also in terms of personality and culture.
“Loïc has personality – and you can feel it.”
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Basic Statistics
10 – Dortmund's 2-0 win over Bayern in 2024 was their first league win in Munich in 10 years, since a 3-0 win in 2014.
11 – Harry Kane has scored 11 goals in six Bundesliga games this season.
1 – Borussia Dortmund striker Serou Guirassy, cleared to play on Thursday, has failed to score or provide an assist in just one of his eight matches this season. He has six goals and three assists.
Matches (13:30 GMT unless otherwise noted)
Friday
Union Berlin vs Borussia Mönchengladbach (1830)
Saturday
Mainz – Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig – Hamburg, Cologne – Augsburg, Heidenheim – Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg – Stuttgart, Bayern Munich – Borussia Dortmund (1630)
Sunday
Freiburg – Eintracht Frankfurt, St. Pauli – Hoffenheim (1530)
DVI/DMK
