Why FC Bayern are favourites in the crunch match against Dortmund

It's one highlight after another! Four days after the 2-1 first leg defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals, FC Bayern host Borussia Dortmund in the standout fixture of Bundesliga Matchday 29 at home in the Allianz Arena. "It's great that we have these high-profile games every three days. As a player, you enjoy April when the highlights come around. But we also have to get the results, of course," said Joshua Kimmich after the home defeat against Inter. In the tough Bundesliga Klassiker against BVB, FC Bayern will be aiming to defend their six-point lead at the top of the table in the title race with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Check out our facts and stats to find out how they intend to achieve this.

Bayern aiming to prevent Dortmund hat-trick

Whenever FC Bayern host Borussia Dortmund, it's fair to call it a true German football classic. On Saturday (18:30 CEST), the next edition of the Red and White vs. Black and Yellow clash takes place in Munich, the 137th time since the Bundesliga was founded. No other fixture has been played as often in German professional football. However, the clash of giants that never gets old always comes up with a new appeal, for example due to the title race or, in this case, the most recent results, when BVB managed to go two straight matches without defeat against FCB for the first time since 2017. The 1-1 draw in Dortmund in November 2024 was preceded by a 2-0 win for Dortmund in Munich in March. Head coach Vincent Kompany's side will of course do everything in their power to take all three points in Munich on Saturday.

Something to give the team confidence

To this end, the German record champions can build on their strong home form - even though they recently lost to Inter in front of their own fans. In the Bundesliga, FC Bayern have won 12 out of 14 home games - in the top European leagues, only Champions League rivals Paris Saint-Germain can match this win rate (86 per cent).

Something else that will give them confidence: With a haul of 68 points after 28 games, Kompany's team are currently enjoying their best Bundesliga season in seven years - in 2017/18, they even had 69 points at this point in the season. "We need every point in the title race, Dortmund have a very good squad. It'll be a top Bundesliga game with a lot of pressure," said Thomas Müller. All seven clubs who have previously amassed at least 68 points after 28 games have gone on to become champions.

Olise and Kane lead the way up front

Despite the many injury-related absences, including Jamal Musiala, who is currently sidelined with a hamstring tear, the Bayern attack continues to impress with some strong figuress. For example, winger Michael Olise's haul of ten assists currently makes him the best provider in the Bundesliga. Since detailed data recording began in 2004/05, only James Rodríguez has managed to deliver at least as many assists in his debut season for FC Bayern in 2017/18 - namely 11. Fellow striker Harry Kane has already scored seven league goals in the second half of the season.

After a brief, temporary dry spell, the England captain scored once in each of the last two games against St. Pauli and FC Augsburg. But beware, BVB are also heading to Munich with an in-form striker: Serhou Guirassy is the Rückrunde's top scorer in the German top flight with eight goals, meaning he's already scored more times than in the entire first half of the season (seven).

BVB thrashed in Barcelona after an upturn in form

4-1 at Freiburg, 3-1 against Mainz - BVB recently announced their return to the race for a European spot with two convincing Bundesliga victories and are aiming for their current eighth place to just be a temporary situation. Coach Niko Kovač's side have picked up 12 points in their last six Bundesliga games, a tally only surpassed by FC Bayern (13) and last season's champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen (15). In addition, BVB have literally fired their way out of the crisis, as no other Bundesliga team has made more attempts (147) than the Black and Yellows since Kovač took over at the beginning of February.

It will also be interesting to see how Dortmund react to Wednesday evening's painful 4-0 defeat in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Barcelona. "We'll definitely defend much better and much more than we did today, because without a defence, we'll also have problems in Munich," said BVB coach Kovač after the away defeat in Spain. Incidentally, the former Bayern boss has yet to win a game against the men from Munich in the Bundesliga as a coach (one draw, seven defeats), which means he'll most likely be particularly motivated.

There was some good news from the training ground ahead of der Klassiker: