Lothar Matthäus ahead of Der Klassiker: "Bayern are far ahead of Dortmund"

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund head into Saturday's Der Klassiker at the Allianz Arena level on points, with the Bavarians leading the Bundesliga table on goal difference.

Despite their equal standing in the table, German legend Lothar Matthäus believes Bayern Munich are significantly ahead of Borussia Dortmund.

As a result, the 65-year-old can understand why Niko Kovac and Borussia Dortmund generally adopt a more defensive approach than the German champions.

“Ultimately, you can certainly play more entertaining football. But for me, success comes first. This team isn’t equipped to play like Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain. Dortmund aren’t at that level. Financially, they aren’t on the same footing as those clubs either," Matthäus told Sky Germany.

“But Niko Kovac knows exactly what he has to do and how to get the best possible results out of this team and the quality of players at his disposal. That doesn’t mean the players lack quality. But compared with the teams I mentioned, they are inferior. So he tries to play in a different way – compact, defensively, disciplined and aggressively.

“Of course, he also has several attacking players who can make the difference at the highest level in certain situations. I’m thinking of [Serhou] Guirassy, who is simply a goalscorer. Nevertheless, Dortmund are clearly inferior to Bayern, particularly in attack. Or, to put it another way, Bayern are far ahead of Dortmund.”

For Matthäus, Wednesday's 6-1 victory over 1. FC Magdeburg in the DFB-Pokal was further proof not only of Bayern's quality but also of their hunger to keep scoring goals.

“They are hungry. You could see that in the second half. After going 3-1 and 4-1 ahead against 1. FC Magdeburg in the DFB-Pokal during the week, they didn’t take their foot off the gas just because the Klassiker was coming up three days later. Instead, they put on a real show for their fans from start to finish, playing great football and scoring plenty of goals. That’s what they are known for," Matthäus said.

Bayern's impressive home record at the Allianz Arena – where they have won five of their six games in all competitions this season, with a goal difference of 31-5 – only makes them even bigger favourites, according to Matthäus.

“They haven’t put a foot wrong at home so far. They have been dominant and confident. With the support of their fans at the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich are certainly the clear favourites. Bayern are always favourites in domestic competitions such as the league and the cup anyway, but even more so at home in the Allianz Arena than away from home," Matthäus said.