Borussia Dortmund's season on the line in Der Klassiker
Borussia Dortmund's underwhelming season is threatening to fade out after a heavy defeat to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.
The timing of Sunday's (AEST) Der Klassiker against Bayern Munich could not have been worse for struggling Borussia Dortmund, with its entire season seemingly resting on the result.
Dortmund will have little time to recover from its 4-0 loss at Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg midweek, as its focus swiftly turns to a fixture that is always a highlight of the Bundesliga calendar.
Dortmund, which reached the UEFA Champions League final last season, went down without a fight in Spain, and it would need an incredible turnaround to progress now.
The result piled more pressure on manager Niko Kovac and his players ahead of the Bayern game, with the team at serious risk of missing out on UEFA Champions League football next season.
Dortmund, which will be without star defender Nico Schlotterbeck until the end of the season, is in eighth place on 41 points, five points behind fourth place with six games left to play.
The concern for club bosses is that Dortmund fails to qualify for any European competition by finishing outside the top six.
"We will be defending much better and much more than we did against Barcelona," Kovac said. "Because without a defence we will have serious problems in Munich as well."
Dortmund is unbeaten in its past four Bundesliga games against Bayern – the longest such run of all top-flight teams and its longest since a five-game stretch from 2009 to 2013, a period which included two Bundesliga titles of its own.
Bayern has its own motivation going into the game, eager to bounce back from its UEFA Champions League quarter-final 2-1 home loss to Inter Milan, in order to go into the return leg next week with a shot of confidence.
The Bavarian side also wants to protect its six-point Bundesliga advantage over defending champion Bayern Leverkusen.
While Bayern is still in with a chance in the UEFA Champions League, any slip-up in the league could prove costly for Vincent Kompany's injury-hit team as it looks to re-establish domestic dominance after last season's Leverkusen double.
Kompany could have midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic back in the squad after his absence because of illness.
Kovac was Bayern manager from 2018 to 2019. His former club is the only side he is still winless against as a coach in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund has picked up 12 points from its past six Bundesliga games, winning four and drawing two, while Bayern has collected 13, with one draw and four wins.
Only Leverkusen has claimed more points than these two teams during this period with 15.
This will be the 137th meeting between Dortmund and Bayern since the Bundesliga was founded. No other fixture has been played as often in German professional football.
Bayern has suffered more defeats to Dortmund than against any other side, 33 in total.
