Borussia Dortmund are ready to topple Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga again

Borussia Dortmund face Bayern Munich in Der Klassiker on Saturday, and for the first time in years they may be the better side.

You don’t need to speak German to understand the meaning of the name given to the Bundesliga’s biggest rivalry, Der Klassiker. Nobody’s really certain of the origins of the term that has been appropriated across the soccer world, from El Clasico in Spain to Le Classique in France and the Superclasico in Argentina, but the label carries a certain weight. It does the job of implying the gravitas of Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund. It is indeed a classic fixture.

Of course, this wasn’t always Germany’s defining soccer match. Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, it was Borussia Monchengladbach, Hamburg and Werder Bremen who challenged Bayern Munich for Bundesliga supremacy. Now, however, in 2018, only Dortmund boast the stature and quality to even come close to the Bavarians.

Bayern have won each of the last six Bundesliga titles, finishing top of the table by a giant 21 points last season. This wasn’t even a vintage year for them, far from it, as they changed managers just a few months into the campaign, swapping Carlo Ancelotti for Jupp Heynckes. Dortmund were in no position to take advantage of this turbulence, though, ultimately finishing fourth.

The dynamic has changed this season. With the first Der Klassiker taking place at Signal Iduna Park this Saturday, it’s Borussia Dortmund who are setting the pace at the top of the Bundesliga. They’re four points clear of Bayern Munich, who have underwhelmed over the early part of the campaign under new manager Niko Kovac.

Defeat this weekend could well spell the end for the Croatian at the Allianz Arena, with reports that many senior figures in the dressing room have turned against the Bayern manager. This strife is in stark contrast to the impact Lucien Favre has made in just a few short months at Borussia Dortmund. When the two men stand alongside each other in the dugout on Saturday, the ground they share will be the only thing they have in common.

Favre has evoked the spirit of Jurgen Klopp by turning Borussia Dortmund into a fast and furious, irrepressible outfit. Of course, it was Klopp who last forged a Bayern-beating force in Germany, leading the Black and Yellows to successive Bundesliga titles, as well as a Champions League final in 2013. Klopp’s style became Dortmund’s, with the ideology of the two indistinguishable.

The years since Klopp’s exit at the end of the 2014-15 season have been lean for Borussia Dortmund, but Favre has picked up where the Liverpool boss left off. Back then, it was Shinji Kagawa, Mario Goetze, Nuri Sahin and Robert Lewandowski who made a habit of bettering Bayern Munich. Now it’s Christian Pulisic, Jadon Sancho, Paco Alcacer and Axel Witsel who are looking to topple the Bavarians.

There’s an energy to Dortmund that makes them irresistible. It’s been evident in their performances so far this season, like in the 4-3 home win over Augsburg last month, or the 4-0 away win over Stuttgart the week after, or the 4-0 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid the week after that. Defending isn’t always a priority, but why would it be when they boast such potency in attack?

No big-name, big-money signings have been made. Dortmund haven’t been able to outspend Bayern Munich, they’ve had to be smarter in the transfer market, adding Alcacer on loan from Barcelona and Hakimi Achraf on loan from Real Madrid. In Pulisic and Sancho, they also boast two superstars of the future, trusting youth when other elite teams would favor experience.

Bayern Munich’s slow start to the season has undeniably been the catalyst for Borussia Dortmund’s rise to the top of the Bundesliga, but Favre’s side are ready to make that position stick. There are parallels to be drawn between the current crop and Klopp’s legendary outfit of five or six years ago. A Bundesliga triumph, and a toppling of Bayern, would be the greatest parallel of all.