Kleindienst claims defensive edge over Kane

Since his arrival at the Allianz Arena, Kane has been the Bundesliga's most prolific marksman by some distance, winning the Golden Boot last term with 36 goals and racking up a league-leading 14 strikes so far this time around.

Kleindienst has become equally important for Gladbach following his summer arrival. Only three players have managed more than the Germany international's nine strikes this term, while Mainz's Jonathan Burkardt (10) is the sole compatriot with more across Europe's top five leagues.

The 29-year-old has often been referred to as a 'typical number nine', but the fact he has made the most intensive runs in the Bundesliga this season (1,284), committed the most fouls (38) and contested the second-most duels (62) show there is plenty more to his game than just scoring goals. 

Watch: Tim Kleindienst - late into the limelight

"I hope we win. It doesn't whether I score myself," Kleindienst ahead of facing Bayern. With him and Kane expected to lead the line for their respective sides, comparisons between the two are unavoidable, but Kleindienst does not believe the two share much in common. 

"Harry Kane is a world-class player - there is a reason he is playing for Bayern," he said. "I don't think we should be compared too much. There are simply too many components that are different in our styles of play. After all, he played for years in the English Premier League and scored what feels like 2,000 goals. My record doesn't come close to that."

The two, though, are similar in that they are expected to do more than just put the ball into the back of the net. Both are adept at holding up the ball and bringing others into play, with Kane amassing five assists this term and Kleindienst four. And the Gladbach centre-forward even believes he edges his Bayern counterpart defensively. "I don't think he's as keen on the defensive side of the game as I am," he joked. "So I'm already one step ahead of him there." 

Watch: Every Harry Kane goal in the Bundesliga

The stats appear to back that up. Kleindienst has made almost three times as many sprints as Kane this season (455 to 158), and his aforementioned tally of intensive runs is more than double that of the Bayern frontman (1284 to 687).

Who will have the upper hand on Matchday 16? Luckily, we don't have to wait long to find out...