Before kick-off, Robert Lewandowski's "Rekordmeister" leads the Bundesliga after 13 matches, just one point ahead of Borussia.

Behind, the hole is made: the third, Leverkusen, is 7 lengths behind.

"If you are neutral, you must wish that Borussia wins on Saturday, for the sake of the Bundesliga," admitted the very Munich-based Lothar Matthäus, 1990 world champion, on Thursday in a meeting with international journalists, including AFP .

"It would allow to have a good fight for the title until the end", continues the former Ballon d'Or: "If Bayern wins, they will have four points in advance, and that will say a lot, beyond these four points, on the psychological balance of power (...) Bayern will have again shown its muscles, its power, its quality ".

A victory for Munich would be the third in a row on the lawn of Dortmund, and would put the Bavarian club in a position of strength to go and win a tenth consecutive league title.

"Yellow Wall"

For a club where "winning" is a religion, winning in the Ruhr is obvious: "We are leaders, we have a very good team, and obviously we are going to Dortmund to win and to stay ahead," said thus Lucas Hernandez, the French defender champion of the world.

Not long ago, the German press spoke of a BVB "complex" against the all-powerful "Rekordmeister".

Club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke let go in August 2020: "Bayern does not beat their opponents, they destroy them".

Borussia Dortmund boss Hans-Joachim Watzke in Dortmund, Germany on November 24, 2019 INA FASSBENDER AFP / Archives

Since then, the same Watzke has tried to find a warlike discourse, even if Dortmund remain on six consecutive defeats in the "Klassiker".

"We have won 17 of our last 20 Bundesliga games, that should give us enough self-confidence," he said, as if to ward off the risk of a collapse on Saturday.

Borussia's last success against Munich dates back to November 2018, 3-2 ahead of their "Yellow Wall" at Signal Iduna Park.

On Saturday, the Yellow and Black will not be able to rely much on their fans: access to the stadium was limited to 15,000 people, or 18% of the capacity of the immense Signal Iduna Park.

Haaland back

"We saw Dortmund's performance with and without its supporters. There is a huge difference," notes Matthäus, "they lost matches in their empty stadium, because it's a team that needs the energy that its audience gives it ".

The good news for Dortmund is the return to form of its prodigy goalscorer Erling Haaland, who replayed 20 minutes last week and has already scored, after a month off due to injury.

His duel with Lewandowski is still a major attraction of the "Klassiker".

Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich on November 6, 2021 in Munich, Germany Christof STACHE AFP / Archives

Bayern has not been at its best for a few weeks, and remains agitated by internal debates, on the sponsorship of Qatar, and on the refusal of certain players to be vaccinated.

The team is further weakened by the absence of playmaker and mental leader Joshua Kimmich, still isolated after testing positive for Covid-19 at the end of November.

Leon Goretzka, his usual accomplice in the middle, is uncertain.

Corentin Tolisso, who is in the interim, is far from having the same influence as Kimmich on the game and on his teammates.

But the Bavarians know, better than anyone, how to transcend themselves as soon as their prestige is at stake: this season, they went to punish Barcelona in the Champions League (3-0), Leipzig (4-1) and Leverkusen (5-) at home. 1).

In Leverkusen, the stake was first place in the Bundesliga.

Like Saturday in Dortmund.

© 2021 AFP