How do Dortmund and Leipzig stack up?

bundesliga.com takes a look at where the match will be won and lost...

In a weekend that features three fixtures among teams in the top eight, the upper reaches of the Bundesliga table could be in for a reshuffle on Matchday 9, and that's just what seventh-placed Dortmund and second-placed Leipzig will be hoping for - albeit with different permutations - as they face off in Saturday night's headline clash.

The story thus far

Dortmund, one of the most storied clubs in German football, have seen their start to the season hampered by some unwanted nerves on the road, but new coach Nuri Şahin has them playing dominantly at home. In his first season at the helm of the club whose youth system he came up through, the 36-year-old coach has led Die Schwarzgelben to four wins from four on their own turf, with at least two goals scored each time out, and they now sit just two points shy of the Bundesliga's top four. With two wins (one defeat) in the Champions League, they are just shy of direct qualification for the round of 16, but they are coming off a 5-2 loss at Real Madrid, which they followed up with a league loss to Augsburg at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Rose's Leipzig are enjoying the club's best-ever start to a Bundesliga campaign, with an unbeaten record of six wins and two draws. The Saxony side, who sit level with leaders Bayern Munich on 20 points, boast the division's stingiest defence, with just three goals conceded and six clean sheets kept over the first eight matchdays. With two of these goals coming in the 3-2 win over reigning champs Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 2, the Leipzig rear-guard are practically hermetic. But they are no slouches up front either, having scored 14 goals for an impressive +11 early-season goal difference. However, Die Roten Bullen haven't fared so well in Europe, and they sit among the elimination places in 31st with three defeats in as many matches. Their draw was anything but clement, though, featuring as it did heavyweights Atlético Madrid, Juventus and Liverpool over the first three matchdays.

Watch: RB Leipzig keeping pace

If Leipzig are to maintain their iron-clad defensive record, they will need goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi to be on point, but there have been some question marks over the Hungarian's fitness after he was forced off at half-time with an ankle injury in the 3-1 win over Freiburg. The man who drove Leipzig's club-record five-match clean sheet streak this season was rested for the midweek DFB Cup match against St. Pauli, and Rose is counting on having him back in action for the Dortmund clash.

Watch: Gulácsi on fire in Matchday 6 win over Heidenheim

The same cannot be said for star midfielder Xavi Simons, however. The influential Dutch international (three goals, two assists in all competitions) limped off in the 1-0 loss to Liverpool with an ankle ligament issue and underwent surgery, meaning he will likely be out until next year, although Rose says a return for the pre-Christmas Matchday 15 blockbuster against Bayern Munich has been set as a "heroic target" for his return. Defender David Raum has the same injury and a similar projected absence. In the interim, promising Norway youngster Antonio Nusa and Austria attacking midfielder Christoph Baumgartner are likely to step in to cover.

Meanwhile, Dortmund are not without their own injury issues, with just one recognised senior centre-back - Nico Schlotterbeck - definitely available after Waldemar Anton limped off the field against Augsburg with a thigh complaint to join fellow stopper Niklas Süle on the injury list. Full-back Julian Ryerson (groin) also picked up an injury in that match, leaving Şahin with highly-rated 19-year-old Filippo Mané as one of his few additional options in what would be a high-pressure first-ever Bundesliga start.

Firepower

However, in attack, Dortmund have one of the league's form players in Serhou Guirassy. Coming off a stellar 28-goal campaign with VfB Stuttgart, the Guinea striker has hit the ground running at Signal Iduna Park, with seven goals and three assists in nine appearances in the league and Champions League. He notably hit two goals and an assist to help Die Schwarzgelben come back from two goals down in the 4-2 win over Bochum on Matchday 5, showing that he has the skills - and the nerve - to deliver under pressure.

Watch: Guirassy delivering for Dortmund

The centre-forward will doubtless be well flanked by impressive England U21 winger Jamie Gittens, who is a candidate to succeed former Dortmund star Jude Bellingham as Tuttosport's Golden Boy, aka the best young player in Europe. The mercurial 20-year-old has already racked up two goals and two assists this campaign (both for target man Guirassy), proof that when he uses his impressive pace to break down the left and cut inside onto his preferred right foot, he is just as much a goal-taker as a he is a goal-maker.

Which isn't to suggest that Leipzig don't have any firepower going forward - on the contrary! Despite the headlines focusing on their defensive acumen, Die Roten Bullen have an impressive attacking line, led by Belgium goal machine Loïs Openda. With five goals and one assist this term, the 24-year-old is following up on the incredible debut Bundesliga campaign in 2023/24, which saw him plunder a personal-best 24 goals and seven assists. With blistering pace and unfaltering killer instinct in front of goal, he will provide as stiff test for Dortmund's makeshift defence - as will his strike partner Benjamin Šeško, who has two goals and two assists in the league as well as an eye for the spectacular strike, as he proved with a superb brace in the Champion League clash with Juventus.

Watch: Openda starred as Leipzig saw off Dortmund last season

So, it's clear that both sides have the personnel and the capacity to get a result in this headline clash, but what does the form book say? Well, this is where it gets really interesting as, across their 16 Bundesliga meetings, the head-to-head record between the sides is perfectly poised at seven wins apiece and two draws. Even the goal-scoring stats are nigh-on identical, with 27 for Dortmund and 29 for Leipzig. So, with 56 goals at an average of 3.5 per game - plus a record of zero scoreless draws - whichever way the result goes, it's more than likely that this Matchday 9 clash will be a spectacular one!

Pedigree vs. momentum

The overall record tells one story, but recent results would appear to tell another: that this rivalry between a pedigreed giant and a burgeoning powerhouse has come to a tipping point. Which is to say that the form in this fixture is in Leipzig's favour, the Saxony side having won five of the last six meetings between the two. Dortmund's only win in that period was two seasons and three matches ago, and if Leipzig can build on their impressive start to the season and get a result in Dortmund, they will tip the historical balance in their favour. 

But any football fan can tell you that form isn't everything. History, and the institutional culture/knowledge that can accompany it, is always a factor. And with eight Bundesliga titles, a Champions League crown, five DFB Cups and six Supercups - compared to Leipzig's two DFB Cups and single Supercup - Dortmund would certainly appear to have the edge in this area.

Watch: Dortmund's last win over Leipzig