Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola had described this weekend's top of the table Bundesliga showdown against Borussia Dortmund as "the game everybody wants to see".
Guardiola was involved in plenty of those while in charge of Barcelona, with their fixtures with Real Madrid one of the biggest attractions in European football.
That game, known as El Clasico, has lent its name to the top-billing fixture on the German football calendar, recently rebranded as Der Klassiker. This Sunday, Klassiker number one of the season takes place at the Allianz Arena.
"It's always a special game," said Guardiola at his pre-match press conference on Friday. "We are ready for it."
Leaders Bayern look every bit ready too, having won their first seven league matches of the season - one short of their own league record of eight in a row from the start of a campaign.
Second-placed Dortmund had been keeping up with them until just over a week ago, when they dropped their first points of the season after winning 11 successive matches in all competitions.
"Maybe it's a positive from our draws that our winning run is over now and we can start over again without as much pressure as we had before," said Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel, whose side drew their third game in a row in midweek.
"We can play with more freedom."
Dortmund may not feel so much freedom come the time they take to the field in Munich, however, with local rivals Schalke just a point behind them and in action two hours earlier this Sunday, at home to Cologne.
A win for the Royal Blues would put the Westphalians under pressure to respond at the Allianz Arena, where Tuchel says his side are meeting a side "in a league only with Real Madrid and Barcelona" as one of the best clubs in the world.
Elsewhere this weekend, Wolfsburg face a tricky trip to Borussia Monchengladbach as two of Germany's Champions League participants, who were both beaten by Manchester clubs United and City respectively in midweek, face off on Saturday.
There is a northern derby between Hannover and Werder Bremen and a southern derby between Hoffenheim and Stuttgart to add some more fever to the weekend, while Hertha Berlin host Hamburg and Ingolstadt entertain Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Sunday's other game comes at the BayArena, where Bayer Leverkusen, who lost to Barcelona in midweek, host an Augsburg side beaten by Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League on Thursday.
Source: PA
