Kovac backs Dortmund to bring it to Der Klassiker

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Dortmund is second in the Bundesliga, behind Bayern on goal difference, ahead of Sunday's Klassiker at Allianz Arena.

This will be the 141st competitive meeting between the rival since the formation of the Bundesliga, the most-played fixture in German professional football.

Bayern has suffered more defeats against Dortmund than any other opponent in professional football; however, they have lost only one of their last 17 meetings, a 0-2 home defeat in March 2024.

Kovac, whose team sealed a last-gasp DFB-Pokal win over Werder Bremen, knows the scale of the challenge facing Dortmund.

"This certainly makes things a lot more exciting than in recent years," said former Bayern boss Kovac. "But that doesn’t make it any easier, because Bayern is undoubtedly the best of the best. Not just in Germany, but also in Europe.

"We have to play at the very highest level. But we're BVB, we have our own standards, and we intend to live up to them."

Bayern and Dortmund are the only two teams remaining unbeaten in the 2026-2027 Bundesliga season.

In two of the last three Bundesliga seasons, Bayern has handed BVB its first defeat of the campaign, winning 2-1 in Munich on matchday seven last season and 4-0 in Dortmund on matchday 10 in 2023-2024.

Bayern's Michael Olise has recorded at least one goal and one assist in three of his last four Bundesliga appearances, as many as in his previous 23 league games combined.

Olise's nine goal involvements (six goals, three assists) in the 2026-2027 Bundesliga are the joint-most in the league, level with team-mate Harry Kane, who on Monday won the Ballon d'Or.

"There's no need to say a word about him," Kovac said. "The mere fact that he received [the Ballon d'Or] says everything about him. He was already a top player in England. To take another leap forward now is sensational."