It’s been a long time since the winners of a Klassiker may not have been sitting on top of the Bundesliga at the end of the game.
But even a ninth straight win for Bayern Munich over Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday may not be enough to put the champions on top.
Bayern head into the first clash with Dortmund this season in third place, level on points with fourth-place Edin Terzic, while Union Berlin surprisingly lead the way ahead of Freiburg after eight games.
It is the first time in 13 years that no team has been in the top two when this game began.
Dortmund have already suffered three defeats in the Bundesliga this season, but go into the game buoyed by a 4-1 Champions League win against Sevilla.
Bayern defeated Viktoria Plzen in midweek after a 4-0 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen, so there could be plenty of goals this weekend.
Stats Perform provides a preview of the 132nd meeting between the two rivals in all competitions in the Bundesliga era by selecting some highlights from Opta.
Dortmund desperate to end lousy Klassiker run
The last time Dortmund beat Bayern was in August 2019, when they won 2-0 in the German Super Cup.
Both of their scorers in that match are no longer at the club, with Jadon Sancho at Manchester United and Paco Alcácer at Sharjah.
Dortmund have not beaten Bayern in the Bundesliga since winning a classic 3-2 in November 2018, with Marco Reus – who misses this weekend with an ankle injury – scoring a brace.
Against Hamburg alone between 1982 and 1985, Dortmund lost eight competitive games in a row, so another defeat this weekend would set an unwanted record.
Hummels could return in time
Mats Hummels has missed both games since the international break due to illness but could return against his former club.
Nine of the 10 goals Dortmund have conceded in the Bundesliga this season have come when Hummels was not on the pitch.
They have only scored one goal in 512 minutes while the experienced centre-back has been on the pitch, but have let one in every 23 minutes without him.
Terzic said before the match: “We would be very happy if it was an option. It’s a matter of seeing how he feels and how his body reacts to the workload.”
Sane and Musiala fire the scoring Bayern
Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala have had a great start to the campaign for Julian Nagelsmann’s team.
Sane had a rocky start at Bayern after his move from Manchester City, but the winger has scored nine goals this season, including four in the Champions League.
Only Gerd Muller has scored more than Musiala’s five goals in eight games at the start of a Bundesliga season as a teenager, the Bayern and Germany legend scoring seven goals at the start of the 1965-66 campaign.
Falling behind may not be a problem for free score champions
The importance of starting strong is so often emphasized, but Bayern may not be too worried if they fall behind.
This is because Dortmund are the only team this Bundesliga campaign to lose twice after leading in games (3-2 against Werder Bremen and 3-2 in Cologne).
Not that Bayern have been slow to get going, as they have scored 16 goals in the first half of Bundesliga games this season, and no other team has scored more than nine.