Der Klassiker by the numbers
German football's biggest game will take on extra significance this weekend when Bayern Munich hosts Borussia Dortmund at Allianz Arena. Here are some key stats to preview Der Klassiker.
Dortmund has mounted a serious challenge to Bayern's sustained Bundesliga dominance this season and leads the defending champion by a point.
Bayern's inability to take control of the title race led to it surprisingly parting ways with Julian Nagelsmann.
His replacement, a man who has coached the other side of this storied rivalry, Thomas Tuchel, who was Dortmund coach from 2015 to 2017.
Tuchel's Dortmund overcame Bayern en route to DFB-Pokal glory in 2017, but the former Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea boss is now immediately under tremendous pressure to deliver victory for Die Roten.
For Dortmund, a win in Bavaria could go a long way to helping Edin Terzic's men seal the title.
But history is firmly against them doing that. Here are some numbers that reveal why.
Dortmund's Munich misery
Dortmund's 2-2 draw with Bayern in the reverse fixture ended a run of eight consecutive defeats in competitive matches against it.
But Allianz Arena has become a house of horrors for Dortmund. Indeed, it has lost its past eight away games against Bayern in the league.
In Dortmund's Bundesliga history, it has only had one longer losing streak away from home: against Werder Bremen from 1979 to 1989 (10 matches).
Good omens for dortmund
By its lofty standards, Bayern has struggled mightily in 2023.
It has won only five of its 10 Bundesliga games in 2023 (D3 L2) and has 52 points after 25 games.
That is its lowest tally at this stage of the season since 2011-2012, when it had 51 points. The season ended with Dortmund winning the title, Bayern has not failed to do so since.
Since this campaign resumed, Dortmund has claimed a league-high 22 points in eight games. That is a club record =after eight games in the second half of the season. The last time it collected as many points at this stage was the 2011-2012 title-winning season under Jurgen Klopp.
The omens are good for Dortmund as it looks to end Bayern's reign, but it will need to avoid a repeat of what happened the previous time it was top of the Bundesliga in the second half of the season.
Table toppers in trouble?
Dortmund is top of the table for the first time since the second matchday of the 2019-2020 season.
Prior to this campaign, it had not been at the summit in the second half of the season since matchday 27 in 2018-2019, which saw it thrashed 5-0 by Bayern at Allianz Arena.
Simply put, Dortmund cannot afford the same outcome this time around if it is to maintain its push to dethrone Bayern.
