Borussia Dortmund takes on arch-rivals Bayern Munich for the 134^th edition of Der Klassiker - the biggest game in German football - on Saturday, 4 November 2023. 

The Bavarians boast a considerable advantage over their rivals, winning 66 of the past 133 Der Klassiker editions, against 32 in Borussia Dortmund's favor. 

Bayern Munich produced a dominant performance to claim a 4-2 win over Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Arena in the sides' last meeting (1 April 2023). 

Having lost eight of the last nine matches against Bayern Munich (0-1-8) in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund are aiming to claim their first league win over the Bavarian giants since November 2018. 

In fact, Anthony Modeste's last-gasp equalizer last October (for a 2-2 draw in Dortmund) has ended Bayern Munich's winning streak over their rivals in the Bundesliga. 

With minds resettled after finally picking up a point against Bayern Munich last season, yet on the way to losing out on the title on the final day of the season, Borussia Dortmund now have another opportunity to leapfrog their bitter rivals with victory.

Borussia Dortmund are in the midst of a 26-match unbeaten streak (winning 20) at the Signal Iduna Park across all competitions, dating to August 2022, when they lost 3-2 to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. 

The Black and Yellows have shown resilience to avoid a defeat on their trip to Frankfurt last weekend. Eintracht Frankfurt earned an early 2-0 lead while Dortmund reacted to restore the parity before the hour mark. 

Still, Fares Chaibi scored a third goal for the home side but Julian Brandt's late equalizer rescued a point for Borussia Dortmund, who remain one of the three Bundesliga clubs that are yet to lose a game this term. 

With six wins and three draws in the competition, Edin Terzic's men sit fourth in the table, four points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen. 

All in all, Edin Terzic's side are yet to lose a game since the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on September 19^th. 

Brandt's fourth Bundesliga goal (at Eintracht Frankfurt) made him Dortmund's top scorer. He has been directly involved in eight goals (four goals and four assists) in nine top-flight appearances this term and should play a pivotal role against Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, Marco Reus scored the winner in Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 German Cup win over Hoffenheim on Wednesday and he should get another start on Saturday. 

Felix Nmecha, who scored the winner in Borussia Dortmund's crucial 1-0 victory at Newcastle United in the Champions League last week, is also pushing for a start. 

Talented Belgian teenager Julien Duranville is ruled out with a muscle injury, while captain Emre Can is struggling with a knee problem so he can miss the clash against Bayern Munich. 

Elsewhere, Marius Wolf and Julian Ryerson are in contention for the right-back spot, though the latter could also be deployed at left-back at the expense of Ramy Bensebaini.

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both continue their unbeaten Bundesliga form, though the Bavarians had to endure a massive setback in the German Cup in midweek. 

Unlike Borussia Dortmund, who have earned a narrow 1-0 win over fellow Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, The Bavarians suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at 3. Liga side Saarbrücken in the German Cup on Wednesday night.

This was Bayern's first defeat since the 3-0 loss to RB Leipzig in the German Super Cup game in August. Thomas Tuchel would arguably demand a completely different mindset from his players from now on. With the Bavarians dumped out of the DFB-Pokal for yet another year

Thus, Bayern Munich have not won the German Cup since the glorious performance in 2019-20 that saw them winning a continental treble for the second time in club history.

Bayern Munich had to endure some really disappointing results in the German Cup over the past couple of years. You wouldn't expect them to underestimate such a game right now but their performance at the Ludwigsparkstadion has been quite disappointing and it also led to an injury of the Netherlands defender Matthijs de Ligt. 

Thomas Tuchel's side have been doing well in the Champions League, though. Having won their opening three games in Group A, The Bavarians are yet to keep a clean sheet in the competition, conceding against each of Manchester United (4-3), FC Copenhagen (2-1) and Galatasaray (3-1). 

Harry Kane has continued his formidable form since he joined the Bundesliga giants this summer. The England captain has been directly involved in 17 goals (12 goals and five assists) in just nine Bundesliga appearances as he had scored his second Bundesliga hat-trick to inspire his side's 8-0 win over Darmstadt last weekend. 

Kane himself was rested from the German Cup round and Tuchel won't hesitate to recall his ace, with the likes of Kingsley Coman and Jamal Musiala also set to return in Bayern's frontline. 

Thomas Muller, who netted a brace to inspire Bayern Munich's 4-2 win over Borussia Dortmund in April, may have to settle for a place on the bench. The 34-year-old attacker has only made three starts in the Bundesliga this term and even though he has two goals and two assists in his last two appearances for Bayern, Muller is only a backup option under Tuchel. 

Raphael Guerreiro is recovering from a muscle injury so the Portuguese left-back could miss the derby against his former club, while Dayot Upamecano, Noussair Mazraoui and Leon Goretzka are all doubts. 

Joshua Kimmich was sent off early in the 8-0 demolition of Darmstadt last weekend and the German international will be suspended for Der Klassiker.

With Kimmich suspended, Konrad Laimer is set to start alongside Leon Goretzka (if he is fit) in the middle, with Jamal Musiala playing in a more advanced role.  

Meanwhile, captain Manuel Neuer made his first start in 10 months in Bayern Munich's 8-0 victory over Darmstadt and should continue in goal. 

You can get a fairly decent value on Bayern Munich to build on their superiority over Borussia Dortmund, but we believe that we should also witness another high-scoring Der Klassiker this weekend. There were four or more goals scored in each of the last eight meetings between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in all competitions. 

Even though they have the joint-best defensive record in the Bundesliga (conceding seven goals) along with RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich actually looks far from convincing at the back. 

Their defensive struggles are something Borussia Dortmund will be looking to exploit, though the Black and Yellows' defensive ability has always been seriously questioned while they are fighting to end Bayern's hegemony.