It really does not get much bigger in the Bundesliga than Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich.
Come Saturday night, the "Klassiker", will take centre-stage, with two of Europe's best sides set to clash in a you-cannot-miss-it contest.
Looking at the statistics, picking a winner becomes near impossible. Dortmund have a 100 percent record at the Westfalenstadion in the Bundesliga this season, and haven't lost their last six league games to Bayern, winning four of them.
Dortmund also have failed to score at home only once in the last 47 games. So goals will be on offer, it seems.
Bayern, on the other hand, are on a stunning record 37-match unbeaten run in the Bundesliga, and expectedly top the table with 10 wins in 12 matches.
At the end of the day, it will boil down to who wants the win more. Looking at the current standings, Dortmund need the three points more than Bayern.
"We will need everything Borussia Dortmund have at their disposal," Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp said, making a rallying cry to the fans. "We will need everything Borussia Dortmund have at their disposal."
The defending champions hold a four-point lead over Dortmund at the moment, after the latter suffered a defeat against Wolfsburg, in the last round of fixtures, and if Pep Guardiola's men pick up a victory in front of 70,000-odd Dortmund fans, then surely the title race will be over, even so early in the season. A seven-point lead, with the form that Bayern are in, will be nearly unassailable.
"We play and coach for games like this," Bayern manager Guardiola said. "We're really lucky we have this opportunity. It's a big, big match."
Guardiola warned Bayern will need to quell Dortmund's fast-paced counter-attacking style if they are to come away with a positive result. "If we let them run at us we don't stand a chance," he said. "We have to concentrate on doing our jobs and playing our football. We have to play as well as we possibly can."
Team News: Both teams have a length injury list, with Borussia Dortmund's especially dire. Klopp will be without his entire first-choice back-four of Lukasz Piszczek, Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer. Manuel Friedrich has been signed as emergency cover and might start against Bayern. Klopp will also be without midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.
Bayern Munich have their own problems with superstar Franck Ribery heading an injury list which also includes Bastian Schweinsteiger, Xherdan Shaqiri, Claudio Pizarro and Holger Badstuber.
Key men: Borussia Dortmund: The home side will rely on their attacking trio of Marco Reus, Robert Lewandowski and Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the goals, and goals they will need to score to get all three points against a rampant Bayern.
Bayern Munich: Mario Gotze will be keen to make an impression against his former side. A hostile welcome can be expected for the German international, and how he copes with it will be shown in his performance.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for an 11 pm IST start with live coverage on Neo Prime. There is no official Live Streaming option available in India. You can catch the game via live stream in the U.K., however, by clicking HERE.
Expected lineups: Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Grosskreutz, Friedrich, Papasthathopoulos, Durm; Bender, Sahin; Blaszczykowski, Mkhitaryan, Reus; Lewandowski.
Bayern Munich: Neuer; Rafinha, Boateng, Dante, Alaba; Martinez, Lahm; Robben, Kroos, Gotze; Muller.
Prediction: 2-2
