Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund face off this Saturday as 1st and 2nd-placed sides in the Bundesliga, respectively.
The Bavarians have a goal-difference advantage over BVB in the table, as both sides share an identical record of five wins and two draws from seven matches so far.
They have shown quite different footballing approaches, but both seem to be working just fine.
In fact, GW7 of 2026/27 is the latest Bayern and Dortmund have had the same amount of points in a Bundesliga season since GW38 of the infamous 2022/23 season, in which Dortmund failed to beat Mainz 05 at home and finished as runners-up.
What makes Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund such an interesting matchup?
Bayern Munich’s all-out attack
Vincent Kompany picked things up at Allianz Arena following poor stints from Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann.
He comes from a more control-oriented lineage of managers rather than embracing chaos, but takes a lot of risks nonetheless. They are just great at reducing those risks and dealing well with them.
Bayern Munich are one of just five teams across the top five European leagues to average 60%+ possession in all three game states.
| Team | Possession (winning) | Possession (drawing) | Possession (losing) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | 70% | 67% | 69% |
| Bayern Munich | 62% | 75% | 67% |
| Inter Milan | 63% | 61% | 65% |
| Manchester City | 66% | 62% | 68% |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 63% | 67% | 74% |
Despite that – and their average possession and passing network maps showing all but two outfield players in their own half – they are still the Bundesliga side that concedes the fewest fast breaks (5) in the league, as well as shots (5) and goals (0) in those scenarios.
As a result, Bayern are among the two best teams in most attacking metrics across the the top five European leagues this season.
| Stats (per game) | Number | Rank (T5EL) |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 3.6 | 2 |
| Shots | 23.2 | 1 |
| Big chances | 6.0 | 2 |
| Expected goals | 3.4 | 2 |
Borussia Dortmund’s pragmatism
Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, have a different approach – and one that Bayern Munich are rather familiar with. After all, they did have Niko Kovac as manager between 2018 and 2019.
And despite unimpressed fans who often voice their concers over Kovac’s style, it has been working.
The former midfielder averages 2.01 points per game since taking over at Signal Iduna Park in February 2025. This is the single most of any permanent manager since Thomas Tuchel’s departure in 2017 (2.12), alongside Lucien Favre (2018-2020).
BVB often struggle scoring, finding the net for the first time from the 70th minute onwards in three of their last four Bundesliga games. The remaining one was a goalless draw against Union Berlin.
Dortmund’s matches have seen just 2.3 goals scored overall, the third lowest tally of any team (Paderborn 2.1, Schalke 1.6).
Their average of 1.7 goals per game puts them 9th in the league, while they also rank 10th in big chances (3.0) and shots (15.3) per game, as well as 12th in expected goals per game (1.6).
While it’s easy to understand why that might not please the Black and Yellow faithful, there is another side to the discussion. They have the best defence of the Bundesliga, conceding just 0.6 goals per game. Not to mention ranking 2nd in xGA (1.0) and big chances faced (1.9), as well as 3rd in shots faced (11.1).
Recent head-to-head record
This clash of styles has somewhat transformed the last few editions of Der Klassiker.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have already met this season, with the Bavarians winning 2-1 in the Supercup. And Kompany is still undefeated against Kovac, with three wins and a draw from four encounters.
But all of those games have been decided by one goal at most. And, aside from the 2-2 draw in the first time Bayern and Dortmund met under their current managers, the Bavarians have won the following three derbies but conceding more big chances to the Prussians (10) than they have had themselves (9).
It’s also an accurate portrayal of their current versions. Kovac’s pragmatism keeps Dortmund’s lesser squad in games against a superior Bayern side. But it’s still not quite enough to get them over the hump.