Dortmund visits Bayern for ‘der Klassiker’ and early Bundesliga title indicator
BERLIN (AP) — With more hope than expectation.
The Bundesliga is waiting to see if Borussia Dortmund can mount a challenge to Bayern Munich in “der Klassiker” on Saturday.
Both teams are unbeaten after six rounds but Bayern has made a perfect start to the season with 11 wins from 11 games across all competitions including the German Supercup.
Though Dortmund dropped points against St. Pauli and Leipzig, it has displayed a new-found resilience under new coach Niko Kovač. Still, the team has a long way to go before it can be considered a title contender.
“We don’t want to talk up something that isn’t there. We are good but Bayern are currently better,” Kovač said before facing his ex-club.
Bayern has already scored twice as many goals (25-12) and conceded fewer (3-4) than Dortmund after six rounds.
Leipzig and Stuttgart are the next closest challengers.
Key matchups
While der Klassiker in Munich dominates the seventh round, Bayer Leverkusen can confirm its revival under new coach Kasper Hjulmand at Mainz earlier Saturday. The Danish coach has overseen three wins and a draw since taking over from the fired Erik ten Hag after just two rounds.
Borussia Mönchengladbach also fired its coach after a dismal start, and its sporting director subsequently resigned. Interim coach Eugen Polanski takes the troubled team to Union Berlin on Friday for what will be new sporting director Rouven Schröder’s debut.
Third-placed Leipzig hosts promoted Hamburger SV on Saturday, when Stuttgart visits Wolfsburg — another team in trouble after three straight losses. There was no respite for Wolfsburg during the international break — coach Paul Simonis’ side also lost a friendly to second-division Hertha Berlin.
Players to watch
Harry Kane can’t stop scoring for Bayern with 11 Bundesliga goals so far. The only time he didn’t score, he set up two in a 3-2 win at Augsburg. Kane also scored twice in England’s 5-0 rout of Latvia in World Cup qualifying, taking his tally to 21 goals for club and country this season.
It will be Nico Schlotterbeck’s job to stop Kane in the heart of Dortmund’s three-man defensive line. Schlotterbeck’s return from six months out with a knee injury has coincided with the team’s stability.
Munich-born forward Karim Adeyemi is enjoying his best form to date for Dortmund thanks to his speed and power. Bayern defenders will already be preoccupied with Serhou Guirassy, leaving openings for the 23-year-old Germany forward.
Who’s out
Leverkusen will likely be without Czech forward Patrik Schick and English defender Jarell Quansah against Mainz. The latter missed England’s World Cup qualifiers with a knee problem, while Schick missed Leverkusen’s last two games and the Czech Republic’s matches due to a hamstring injury.
Malik Tillman is a doubt, too, after he missed the United States’ 2-1 win over Australia with a thigh problem.
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