Saturday's Bundesliga action concludes with Der Klassiker at Signal Iduna Park, with giants Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich doing battle.

Germany's great competitive rivals go head to head at the top of the table as well, with the hosts looking to overtake the champions at the summit, in their quest to end the Bavarians' nine-year domestic dominance.

Match preview

© Reuters

The unexpected return of Erling Braut Haaland to the Dortmund squad last weekend provided a much-needed boost to the second-placed title challengers.

Having watched on from the sidelines as his teammates limped across the finish line in numerous Bundesliga encounters, whilst all but failing to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League as well, Haaland returned with a goal off the substitutes bench at Wolfsburg to seal a 3-1 win.

The impact from the Norwegian striker took less than seven minutes in the closing stages, and allowed BVB to comfortably see out the rest of the game following Emre Can's penalty and Donyell Malen's third goal in as many games, in response to going 1-0 behind after just two minutes.

Despite Marco Rose's side faltering in Europe and being far from their best in the absence of their star man domestically as well, Dortmund managed to grind out the wins to maintain the pressure on Saturday's opponents at the top of the table.

Dortmund head into Der Klassiker just a single point behind Bayern, with a win taking them to top spot for the first time this campaign, which would see them in a strong position to finally put together a consistent challenge for their opponents' crown and prevent a 10th-consecutive Bundesliga title.

However, Dortmund will be all too aware of the almost meaningless nature of form heading into this occasion, with six straight defeats suffered against their rivals in all competitions, despite approaching some encounters in a seemingly advantageous position compared to Bayern.

The 3-1 defeat in the DFL-Supercup back in August was an appropriate example of this, with BVB heading into that clash on the back of a 5-2 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt on the opening Bundesliga weekend, whilst Bayern struggled to a 1-1 draw at Borussia Monchengladbach in Julian Nagelsmann's debut game as manager.

© Reuters

Meanwhile, Bayern will be hoping that form certainly does go out of the window when they make the trip to Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.

Despite winning five of their last six across all competitions, Nagelsmann's side have been performing far from their usual exceptional standards that they have set themselves for most of the campaign so far.

A shock 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Augsburg had followed a narrow 2-1 home victory over then-unbeaten Freiburg in recent weeks, and have preceded narrow victories over Dynamo Kiev and Arminia Bielefeld in the past week.

In both recent triumphs, the Bavarians have lacked a clinical edge in the final third - an attribute that they have possessed with huge success for most of Nagelsmann's tenure to date - with an incredible 76 goals being scored in 21 competitive fixtures in the 2021-22 campaign so far.

Included within that astonishing total was the sole strike from Leroy Sane in the 1-0 victory against Bielefeld at the Allianz Arena last weekend, with the winning goal not arriving until the 71st minute following a barrage on their opponents' goal up to that point.

A far greater winning margin would have been expected against the relegation candidates on home soil and although it is not ideal preparation for the top-of-the-table clash on Saturday, Bayern will be sure to maintain their level-headed confidence of being able to outclass their rivals once more.

Team News

© Reuters

The biggest question being asked at Dortmund ahead of the welcome of Bayern on Saturday is whether Haaland will be fit enough to lead the line.

Despite returning two weeks ahead of schedule with a 17-minute cameo last weekend, it is difficult to see how Rose could leave him out of the starting 11 considering the huge difference he makes to the BVB side both individually, and as a team.

Malen will have to settle for a wider role in order to make way for Haaland, which will likely result in Marius Wolf dropping to the bench.

Raphael Guerreiro could also return at left full-back, but Jude Bellingham remains a doubt and Giovanni Reyna remains out despite returning to training this week.

As for Bayern, they will remain without the vital component of Joshua Kimmich on Saturday, as well as fellow central midfielder Marcel Sabitzer.

Eric Choupo-Moting and Bouna Sarr will definitely join the duo on the sidelines, whilst Sven Ulreich and Tanguy Nianzou are listed as doubtful.

Robert Lewandowski will lead the line on another return to his former home, and he is likely to be supported in attack by Kingsley Coman, Thomas Muller and Sane.

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Meunier, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro; Can, Witsel, Brandt; Reus, Malen; Haaland

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Pavard, Upamecano, Hernandez, Davies; Tolisso, Goretzka; Coman, Muller, Sane; Lewandowski

We say: Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Bayern Munich

These giant clashes can tend to go one of two ways in terms of a tight affair with little action or an entertaining encounter with plenty of goals, but considering the 20 goals across the last four meetings, as well as Nagelsmann's high-risk approach at Bayern, we are predicting the latter for Saturday's spectacle.

Despite the drop off in standards by Bayern in recent weeks, they can never be written off in Der Klassiker meetings, and for this reason we believe they will edge out a Dortmund side boosted by the return of Haaland.

Previews by email