“Der Klassiker” and Füllkrug leads world's best Kane in Torjägerkanone race: Five things to look out for on Bundesliga Matchday 8

It's one of those weeks where there is no doubt whatsoever regarding the biggest story of the matchday, league leaders FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund will lock horns in the marquee fixture in the modern era of Bundesliga.

FC Bayern and Dortmund clash for top spot

Although the overused marketing moniker “Der Klassiker” is not everyone's cup of tea, there is simply no other fixture that can come close to FC Bayern against Borussia Dortmund in Germany football since the current Bundestrainer Jürgen Klopp revolutionized the latter. Allianz Arena will host the first Bundesliga meeting between the sides on Saturday.

Irrespective of the outcome, they will remain in the top two as there is a four-point gap with Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen after seven matchdays. Bayern started the campaign with a Franz Beckenbauer Supercup triumph in Dortmund, but Niko Kovac's men showed another way of winning as they picked up the same number of points to the Rekordmeister in Bundesliga.

Despite the continued absence of Vincent Kompany, Bayern maintain their remarkable domestic record of scoring six goals per game at Allianz Arena with a 6-1 victory over Magdeburg on Wednesday. A day earlier, Dortmund knocked out their new bogey team Werder Bremen from the DFB-Pokal in a dramatic fashion.

Kane to close gap with Füllkrug in his first game after “special night”?

Fittingly, Harry Kane's first match after winning the Ballon d'Or will be against Dortmund. Including a hat-trick in his first-ever “Der Klassiker”, the England captain scored 10 goals against the Black and Yellows so far in his career.

The 33-year-old started this campaign slowly in terms of goalscoring as he has more Bundesliga assists (5) than goals (4). That puts the winner of the last three Torjägerkanone (Goalscorer Cannon) awards in an unfamiliar territory as the rejuvenated Niclas Füllkrug leads the race with eight (!) goals.

While the main focus will most likely be in opening a gap with Dortmund in the standings, the all-rounder Kane will certainly hope to repeat his goalscoring feat once more this season. Meanwhile, Füllkrug's Bremen will be in action against TSG Hoffenheim in the last chance for Kane's agemate to impress Klopp before Germany's coach announces the squad for November's international break.

Leverkusen and Stuttgart lock horns at the end of busy month

Both Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart already played six games each in October before their head-to-head clash in the last day of the month. The hosts have been in fine form until last week's heavy defeat to fellow Europa League side Hoffenheim, while Sebastian Hoeneß's VfB dropped to 15th place following a home loss to bottom-placed Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Saturday's clash will be vital for the two former Bundesliga winners after they both booked their spots in the Round of 16 of the DFB-Pokal in midweek. Hoeneß would expect a reaction from his side after the fans booed the team last Friday, while Carles Martinez's side will hope to maintain their perfect home record.

Schalke and Leipzig desperate to end miserable runs

FC Schalke are the only side yet to score at home this season. Meanwhile, RB Leipzig lost all three games on the road under Martin Demichelis. On Saturday, the newly-promoted side will host travel-sick Leipzig at Veltins Arena.

Leipzig were in danger of taking their poor away record to the DFB-Pokal before the returnee Christoph Baumgartner scored a brace against 3. Liga side RW Essen. Schalke faced the next blow of their slow start to the campaign as they were knocked out of the cup by 2. Bundesliga strugglers Dynamo Dresden. 

Repeat of Pokal duels on Sunday 

Incidentally, Sunday's Bundesliga games will be the repeat of two midweek cup clashes. After their five-star Pokal show on Tuesday, Köln will hope to do another damage to Union Berlin's difficult start to the campaign. However, Mauro Lustrinelli's side will have the home advantage for this one.

Matchday 8 will be concluded in Frankfurt as HSV look to avenge their 3-1 home defeat that ended their cup dreams. In the last 15 meetings between the traditional clubs, the home teams have only won twice.