Bayern Munich can count on Jamal Musiala (c.) and Harry Kane (r.) for yet more inspiration in Der Klassiker. - © IMAGO

bundesliga

5 reasons Bayern Munich will beat Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker

26.03.2024

Harry Kane can't stop scoring, Jamal Musiala has magic in his feet and Bayern Munich have their mojo back ahead of their blockbuster showdown with Borussia Dortmund. bundesliga.com explains why the record champions will win the latest instalment of Der Klassiker...

1) Harry Hurri-Kane

Death, taxes and Kane goals. The Bayern No.9 has 31 of them to show for his first 26 Bundesliga appearances, including a Klassiker debut hat-trick. No one has scored so often in their maiden Bundesliga campaign - and he still has eight rounds of fixtures remaining. If the England captain continues to fire at his current clip of one every 75 minutes, he'll tie Robert Lewandowski's 41-goal single-season record, set in 2020/21. Yet with eight multiple-goal showings and only seven blanks so far, there's every chance Harry Hurri-Kane will tear past his predecessor's go[a]ld standard before the campaign is out.

Watch: Harry Kane vs. Robert Lewandowski after 26 matches

2) Bayern on fire...

... opposition defences are terrified. The record champions were the talk of the football world for all the wrong reasons following an uncharacteristic three-game losing streak in February. They slipped up again in a 2-2 draw with Freiburg, having edged RB Leipzig 2-1 the previous week, but rediscovered their blistering best form thereafter. A 3-0 win over Lazio sent them through to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, before Kane & Co. romped to 8-1 and 5-2 victories over Mainz and Darmstadt respectively.

3) Thriving as the hunters

Bayern's resurgence won't have gone unnoticed in Dortmund or over at unbeaten Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen. Overturning the 10-point gap on the summit is quite the ask - Bayern need some big favours from elsewhere whilst being flawless themselves during the run-in - but is by no means impossible. In many ways, playing with the pressure off appears to be bringing the very best out of the defending champions as they chase a 12th successive Bundesliga title.

Watch: Bayern Munich in fine fettle ahead of Der Klassiker

4) Musiala magic

It's not just Kane who's helped get Bayern purring again. Musiala scored twice and assisted another in the Darmstadt rout to make it nine goal contributions in his last five outings alone. The 21-year-old now has 10 goals for the Bundesliga season, and more in 11 top-flight games in 2024 (seven) than in 29 across the previous year (six). "He's in great form," said Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund after Musiala's sparkling display prior to the March international break. "He loves playing, is scoring and providing assists. He does incredible things on the pitch and is an extraordinary player."

Watch: Every Jamal Musiala goal and assist in the Bundesliga

5) Bayern LOVE playing Dortmund

Musiala's featured in the last five Bundesliga Klassikers, with Bayern winning four and drawing the other (2-2 in Dortmund in 2022/23). In fact, that's the only time they've failed to win in their previous 10 top-flight meetings with Die Schwarzgelben, dating back to a 3-2 defeat at Signal Iduna Park in November 2018. Results under former BVB head coach Thomas Tuchel have been particularly convincing: Bayern won 4-2 at home on his debut in the Allianz Arena dugout, before hitting four without reply in this season's reverse fixture.

Watch: Kane hit a hat-trick in Dortmund on Matchday 11

Will Tuchel sign off with a hat-trick of Klassiker wins, before stepping down as Bayern boss at the end of the current campaign? Follow all the build-up, match action and reaction to Bayern vs. Dortmund on bundesliga.com!