Germany will grind to a shuddering halt for ninety minutes tomorrow as all eyes turn to the Allianz Arena for the biggest game of the title race so far, as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund go head to head.
Just four points separate Bayern from their clearest challengers Dortmund in the table, with that gap stretching to seven points with victory and would give a huge psychological boost even this early in the season.
But defeat to Thomas Tuchel’s troops would cut that gap to just one point and would give the Schwarzgelben faithful real hope of lifting the Bundesliga trophy for the first time since 2012.
Not managed in this fixture by Jurgen Klopp for the first time since 2008, Dortmund will take hope from their good record recently against Bayern; the loss in Bavaria last season aside, Dortmund have won four of the last seven games at the Allianz.
But their hosts, even by their own standards, have never started a season as well as this. 21 points after seven games with a +20 goal difference is a league record, and will relish the chance to bring their challengers back to the ground with a bang and a bump.
Team News
Pep Guardiola will still be without Bayern’s most important two players of recent times, the winger duo of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, but Douglas Costa has shone in their absence.
Arturo Vidal should return after missing the 5-0 rout of Dinamo Zagreb in midweek with a knee injury.
Dortmund have far less to worry about in the treatment room with just Nuri Sahin and Erik Durm missing from action, and Neven Subotic could return to league action after making his comeback against PAOK in the Europa League on Thursday.
Expected lineups
Bayern (4-2-3-1): Neuer - Lahm, Javi Martinez, Boateng, Alaba - Xabi Alonso, Thiago - Douglas Costa, Müller, Götze – Lewandowski
Dortmund (4-2-3-1): Bürki - Ginter, Sokratis, Hummels, Schmelzer - Weigl, Gündogan - H. Mkhitaryan, Kagawa, Reus - Aubameyang
Key men
With this fixture likely to be a incredibly tense affair, Der Klassiker is likely to be decided by which team’s spearhead is in the sharpest mood come tomorrow evening.
Dortmund star Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has scored 13 in 12 games in all competitions whilst the prolific pole Robert Lewandowski, who enjoyed four goal-laden years at the Westfalenstadion himself, has netted an incredible 14 in eight games for Bayern so far this campaign.