Forget the Ballon d'Or, Lewandowski – Haaland and Dortmund are coming for you

<�p>Thomas Muller said it was "definitely a disappointment". Jurgen Klopp was left confused. Lothar Matthaus "doesn t understand the world any more". Even Lionel Messi used his victory speech to suggest France Football issue a retrospective award.<�/p> <�p>Whatever your views on the Ballon d Or this year, chances are you saw Messi beating Robert Lewandowski to the prize and thought it was at least worthy of discussion. Robbed of the chance to claim it last year when France Football cancelled it – hence Messi s magnanimous suggestion to the organisers – Lewandowski suited up for this year s gala having scored goals in all competitions in , at least more than anyone else, with a new single-season Bundesliga scoring record in his pocket and yet another league title with Bayern Munich. And all after winning the treble the season before. And it was only good enough for second place.<�/p> <�p>Now isn t the time for Lewandowski to dwell on disappointment, though. There s the small matter of the Klassiker on Saturday: Bayern are only a point above Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table, suggesting that maybe, just maybe, a real title race is on the cards again. Plus, Dortmund have fit-again Erling Haaland back among the goals – and ready to give chase to Lewandowski s goalscoring benchmark.<�/p> <�p>After the Ballon d Or disappointment, and with Dortmund and Haaland breathing down his neck, this would be a good time for Lewandowski to start laying a claim for the prize...<�/p> <�p> <�/p> <�p><�strong>Meisters at work<�/strong><�/p> <�p>There are some great rivalries in the Bundesliga, but this game is truly a German institution.<�/p> <�p>Dortmund and Bayern have met each other 9 times – it s the most frequently played match in German professional football history. Bayern have lost more often to Dortmund than any other side ( times); likewise, nobody has beaten BVB as often as Bayern ( times).<�/p> <�p>Recent history has been firmly on Bayern s side (even ignoring their nine consecutive league titles since Dortmund s last one in ). The champions have won each of the past six Klassikers, and all of the previous three on Dortmund s home turf. BVB have only lost four in a row at home to the same team on two occasions: against Hamburg from 98-8, and against Juventus from 99-.<�/p> <�p><�img alt="Bayern have won six games in a row against Dortmund" perform:prop="uuid:zgcf8njdbbesohtdz;width:9;height:8" src="https://images.performgroup.com/di/library/omnisport/c/b/bayern-have-won-six-games-in-a-row-against-dortmund_mbi8shbr9lahvb.png?t=8" style="width: %; border-width: px; border-style: solid;" /><�/p> <�p>Perhaps things will be different this time. After all, Dortmund have won seven home games in a row at the start of this season, something they have never achieved before. Beating Bayern would see them equal their club record of consecutive home league victories, and few would argue it s impossible: with points from games, this is their third-best start to a season in the era of three points for a win.<�/p> <�p>With just a point separating them in the table, former Bayern defender Patrik Andersson certainly sees it being a close encounter. "First of all, when you see that Bayern lost against Augsburg, now it s only one point... I think it will be a decider, for the moment," he told Stats Perform.<�/p> <�p>"And also, for Bayern, a really important game before the big clash against Barcelona. And now Dortmund, having no chance in the Champions League, it is also a really important game for them. So, yeah, always a big clash."<�/p> <�p>Consider, too, Julian Nagelsmann s record against Dortmund. The Bayern boss has only managed one win in Bundesliga meetings with Dortmund, his points-per-game average of . the lowest he