Neuer ruled out, Kimmich back in training as Bayern host Dortmund in the Klassiker

Bayern Munich will face Borussia Dortmund without captain Manuel Neuer on Saturday (18:30 CET), interim coach Aaron Danks, standing in for the ill Vincent Kompany, said on Friday, but Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich was due back in team training for the first time since a bereavement in his family. Sport.de, citing Sky, reports that Kimmich will be in the squad for the Klassiker, as the fixture is known in Germany; the club has not confirmed it.

Only goal difference separates first from second. Both sides have won five and drawn two of their seven league games, the only unbeaten records left in the Bundesliga, and Bayern's +19 beats Dortmund's +8. Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen, four points back on 13, play first, at 15:30.

Attack against defence

Bayern have scored 25 goals, the most in the league and more than twice Dortmund's 12, including 18 in three home games: 5-1 against Stuttgart, 7-0 against Union Berlin and 6-1 against RB Leipzig. Dortmund have conceded four, the fewest, with five clean sheets, and only two in three away games. They also strike late: nine of their 12 league goals came after half-time, Sportschau counted, and in midweek Marcel Sabitzer's stoppage-time goal gave Dortmund a 3-2 DFB-Pokal win over Werder Bremen.

History favours the hosts: Bayern have lost only one of their last 17 competitive meetings with Dortmund, a 2-0 home defeat in March 2024, and won 2-1 in Dortmund in the Supercup ten weeks ago.

Bayern: Neuer out, Kane rested

Neuer, 40, still has some pain in his foot, Danks said; sport.de describes it as a tendon irritation. Jamal Musiala, Luis Díaz (torn muscle bundle) and Bara Sapoko Ndiaye (appendix operation) are also out. Aleksandar Pavlović came off the bench in Wednesday's 6-1 cup win over Magdeburg and Minjae Kim was back in that squad, so both are options. Harry Kane, who received the Ballon d'Or in London on Monday, spent all 90 minutes of that tie on the bench.

Kimmich, 31, missed at least the 3-1 league win at Freiburg and the 6-1 cup win over Magdeburg. "Jo Kimmich has trained individually so far and will train with the team for the first time today. I'll talk to him and we'll see how things go for him," Danks said. Sporting director Max Eberl said the decision on whether Kimmich plays on Saturday was "not my responsibility": "Life is different for him now."

Dortmund: Karetsas returns

Konstantinos Karetsas is back in Dortmund's squad, sport.de and the Ruhr Nachrichten reported on Friday. The Greek midfielder, signed from Genk in the summer for almost €30 million, injured his ankle ligaments in the 0-0 at Union Berlin in mid-October. Emre Can and Giannis Konstantelias remain out with cruciate ligament tears; otherwise, "the boys who played the last game are all fine," coach Niko Kovač said.

"For the first time in a long while we have the chance to go to Munich with the same number of points. That makes it more exciting, but not easier," Kovač said.