Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Bundesliga clash between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at the Westfalenstadion. The visitors have usurped their rivals at the top of the standings after getting back on track since the arrival of Jupp Heynckes, moving three points clear and looking good value to win a sixth top-flight crown on the spin.

Dortmund head into this match on the back of a disappointing run of form, meanwhile, winning just one of their last six matches in all competitions to leave their seasons at somewhat of a crossroads, with that solitary victory coming against lower-league opposition in the DFB-Pokal. Three points today, though, and all of a sudden we really will have a title race on our hands!

BORUSSIA DORTMUND TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Burki; Bartra, Sokratis, Toprak, Schmelzer; Weigl, Kagawa, Castro; Yarmolenko, Aubameyang, Pulisic

SUBS: Weidenfeller, Toljan, Guerreiro, Sahin, Sancho, Gotze, Schurrle

Starting with a look at the home team, boss Petr Bosz has included Christian Pulisic in a three-man attack, alongside the returning Andriy Yarmolenko and prolific-as-ever striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. That is a talented front three by anyone's standards, responsible for netting a league-high 27 goals so far this season. Bayern, by comparison, have registered three fewer. A bold approach as far as Die Borussen are concerned!

Yarmalenko is not the only player to return to the starting XI, as Gonzalo Castro is also welcomed back in a midfield three alongside Shinji Kagawa and Julian Weigl. Moving further back, Marcel Schmelzer was afforded a breather in midweek - proving to be the wrong call as Dortmund are now effectively out of the Champions League - meaning that he will provide some fresh legs down the flank, while Marc Batra fills in on the right due to Jeremy Tolijan's struggles.

Dortmund are without Dan-Axel Zagadou this evening following his dismissal against Hannover, but this is still a strong BVB side that also boasts a quality bench. A familiar name of sorts among the back-up options tonight, as England Under-17s starlet Jadon Sancho is once again included, while the more experienced Nuri Sahin, Mario Gotze and Andre Schurrle are also included. If the hosts are chasing the game, at least they have options to swing the game back in their favour.

BAYERN MUNICH TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Ulreich; Kimmich, Sule, Hummels, Alaba; Martinez, Thiago; Robben, James, Coman; Lewandowski

SUBS: Starke, Rafinha, Boateng, Vidal, Rudy, Tolisso, Wreidt

James Rodriguez is handed a start this evening, having finally showed signs of adapting to life at the Allianz Arena under returning boss Jupp Heynckes. Joshua Kimmich is a slightly surprising inclusion, as he was suffering from illness in the build-up to the match - he missed out on training yesterday and reportedly only travelled to Dortmund earlier today.

Rodriguez will start just off leading marksman Robert Lewandowski, who is level with Aubameyang - the man he missed out to by one goal in the last campaign - at the top of the Bundesliga scoring charts with 10 apiece. Lewandowski was another fitness doubt for today's game due to an injury problem that ruled him out of contention against Celtic, but he - unlike crocked attacker Thomas Muller - is deemed fit enough to start this huge Klassiker clash.

Jerome Boateng and Kingsley Coman were the other players with question marks over their heads, but the latter starts and the former is among the subs - probably as good as Heynckes could have hoped for in the circumstances. Elsewhere, Mats Hummels returns alongside Niklas Sule after being rested for the midweek win in Glasgow, while Thiago is another to come straight back in following his welcome breather.

DID YOU KNOW? Eight members of Borussia Dortmund's squad this evening have never previously faced off against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Nine members of the visitors' travelling party were included in manager Jupp Heynckes's last squad to face BVB in the 2012-13 campaign, meanwhile, so they have plenty of experienced heads to call upon tonight.

Bayern head into this match three points clear of Dortmund at the summit, having climbed to the top for the first time this season last weekend. The two sides have experienced contrasting results in recent weeks; the Bavarians winning six in a row under Heynckes, three of those coming in the German top flight, to not only make up the gap on their rivals but also move out in front. If their season was stuttering under Carlo Ancelotti, it is firmly back on track now!

To put all that into some context, Bayern were five points adrift of Dortmund following their 2-2 draw at Hertha Berlin, having also dropped points in three other fixtures from the first seven played - simply not good enough by their high standards. It was the 3-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain that did for Ancelotti, however, with the Bavarian giants deciding that enough was enough and a new - well, old - man was required until at least the end of the campaign.

While Bayern were seeing off Celtic 2-1 in midweek, Dortmund again made hard work of Cypriot champions APOEL and are now facing Europa League football - at the very best - come the second half of the season. BVB have won one of their last six games in all competitions, coming against lower-league opposition in the domestic cup on October 24, with the most recent of their results - the 1-1 draw against APOEL here - especially tough to take in a game that they dominated.

Dortmund have conceded nine goals in their last three matches, going down to RB Leipzig and Hannover either side of a 2-2 draw with Frankfurt. Prior to that, they won six and drew one of their opening seven matches, keeping clean sheets in the first five of those, but this loss of form has led to questions being asked of Bosz. Ultimately, a lot could depend on this result in the second Klassiker of the campaign, with Die Borussen now desperate to keep within touch of their rivals.

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KICKOFF! I mentioned that this is the second Klassiker of the season - they also met in the curtain-raising DFL-Supercup in August, which Bayern Munich won on penalties at this ground. That finished 2-2 at the end of normal time, so fingers crossed for a similar result tonight!

Dortmund, down to third in the Bundesliga ahead of kickoff due to Leipzig's win over Hannover a little earlier, have started brightly. Bosz urged his players to show courage this evening and, on the basis of the first three minutes, they are doing exactly that.

Bayern yet to find their passing range in this cauldron of a ground. These two sides have won the last eight Bundesliga titles between them, remember, though the visitors have dominated on that front in recent times by winning it five years in a row.

Bartra, filling in at right-back again this evening, tracked the run of Coman well down the wing to prevent him getting in behind. A bit of afters between the pair, but the referee was on top of the situation and both men made their way back up the field.

YELLOW CARD! Still awaiting the first attempt of the evening, with the teams very much cancelling each other out at the moment. An early yellow for Marcel Schmelzer, who caught his man with an elbow when climbing for the ball.

No idea how Lewandowski has avoided seeing a yellow here - not so much for the initial challenge, which had little in it, but more so for arguing for the referee for a good 30 seconds. Certainly helped increase the atmosphere another notch or two!

BLOCK! Superb piece of defending from Niklas Sule, who puts his body in the way of Aubameyang's goal-bound shot - the first half-chance of the match. Boateng only on the bench tonight, remember, so Sule will be happy with that block.

Nice ball from Thiago, spraying the ball the length of the field to find Kimmich down the right. Dortmund sitting very deep at the moment, which goes against what we have become accustomed to, but it seems to be working OK at the moment.

Brilliant finish from Robben to give Bayern the lead on enemy territory. James Rodriguez brought the ball down inside the box and laid it off to his teammate, who curled it past the reach of Roman Burki from 16 yards out. Dortmund already have a big task on their hands.

CHANCE! Coman with a smart delivery towards Javi Martinez, who could not quite get a toe on the ball from close range. Prior to the Robben goal, Sokratis brought down Lewandowski when the last man but the referee felt he got the ball.

Robben is now the highest scoring foreign-born player in Bayern's history, with 93 Bundesliga goals to his name in all. An impressive goal it was to reach that milestone, too, as he worked the ball onto his his left foot and curled it home perfectly.

Dortmund struggling to make much of an attacking impact as we enter the second quarter of the match. Aubameyang had half a chance a little earlier, only for Sule to produce a big block, while a cross towards him moments ago was caught by Ulreich.

Kagawa goes down inside the box under contact from Hummels, but the Dortmund man was rather looking for it. A few big challenges flying in at the moment to the delight of home fans, though BVB are unable to turn passion into quality in the final third.

Sokratis does really well when left up against Lewandowski, doing enough to prevent the Pole from finding a route through on goal. No real change to the flow of the match, with the visitors looking comfortable enough after 28 minutes.

A third of the match played and still just the one attempt on target so far, which ended with the ball in the back of the net. Robben showed the one bit of quality to edge his side in front and, 13 minutes on, we have yet to see any further openings.

SAVES! Strange tactics deployed by Bosz, in truth, as Dortmund are sitting back and letting Bayern dominate possession. That almost changed moments ago, though, as Yarmalenko was played through and denied only by an Ulreich save. Up the other end, Burki produces a strong hand to deny Lewandowski.

CLOSE! This game has well and truly come to life over the past few minutes! After chances for Yarmolenko and Lewandowski, both well saved, Kagawa's shot deflected off Alaba and ended no more than an inch wide of the post.

Lewandowski is as good as through on goal with one simple ball over the top but, perhaps because he is not at 100% fitness wise, he was unable to capitalise and was soon crowded out. Chances at both ends in an end-to-end contest.

Sokratis has been very solid in the opening 38 minutes of the match, producing another big tackle to this time prevent Coman from getting the ball into the danger zone. The centre-back remained down on the floor but he should be OK to continue.

Seven goals in seven games against Dortmund for their former hero Lewandowski! Another smart finish at the end of Kimmich's cross, but on this occasion there was also a slice of luck as the striker's flick took a big deflection off Omer Toprak on its way past Burki.

Sule with another top piece of defending to not only stop Pulisic's run into the box, but to also win his side a goal-kick in the process. Bundesliga champions Bayern cruising in the match at the moment, boasting 60% of the ball so far.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND SUB! Jeremy Toljan is on for Sokratis, who was unable to shake off the foot injury picked up shortly before Bayern's second. Another blow for BVB, who may well have to change things around further at the break.

SAVE! Reluctant to say Dortmund have been disappointing in this first half, because they have created two big chances. Much like earlier in the half, this latest one also fell the way of Yarmolenko, who was once again denied by Ulreich.

An entertaining opening 45 minutes comes to a close at the Westfalenstadion, with Bayern Munich well on course for another Klassiker victory. Arjen Robben opened the scoring and Robert Lewandowski, via a healthy deflection, added a second to give Borussia Dortmund plenty to think about at the break.

Dortmund were more than happy to sit off their opponents in the opening 45 minutes and cede possession, which initially looked to work well enough as they were given the chance to counter-attack. The champions did not take long to find their rhythm on enemy territory, though, and they were in front 17 minutes in from the first attempt of the evening. James Rodriguez was given too much time and space to chest a back-post cross, before laying it off nicely for Arjen Robben to curl past the reach of Roman Burki from 16 yards.

A big chance to make it two was squandered by Javi Martinez a couple of minutes later, failing to get a toe to Kingsley Coman's smart delivery as the visitors continued to remain on top. A pivotal moment in the contest arrived shortly after the half-hour mark when, either side of a well-saved Robert Lewandowski shot, Andriy Yarmolenko was denied by Sven Ulreich and Shinji Kagawa missed the target by no more than a few inches.

In typical Bayern fashion, those chances would prove costly as Lewandowski flicked Joshua Kimmich's right-sided cross past Burki via a telling touch from Omer Toprak on its way through. Dortmund's evening got even worse before the end of the first half due to Sokratis Papastathopoulos limping off injured, but they could so easily have been back in the match had Yarmolenko got the better of Ulreich in his second clear-cut chance of the contest.

Would not be at all surprising to see home boss Petr Bosz, under a little pressure due to this poor run of form, make a second change at the interval. Dortmund may have created a couple of chances, but they have been dominated in terms of possession so far.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND SUBS: Weidenfeller, Guerreiro, Sahin, Sancho, Gotze, Schurrle

BAYERN MUNICH SUBS: Starke, Rafinha, Boateng, Vidal, Rudy, Tolisso, Wreidt

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RESTART! We are back under way at the Westfalenstadion, where neither manager has made a change. Incredibly, Bayern are unbeaten in their last 127 Bundesliga matches when leading at the midway point - good luck, Dortmund!

SAVE! Unbelievable save from Burki, who perhaps relied on instincts more than anything else. Robben with the cross and Lewandowski with the downwards header, which the Dortmund stopper kept out with his outstretched leg.

CHANCE! No sign of the end-to-end feel to the match ending anytime soon. Pulisic gets to the byline and cuts the ball back perfectly for Aubameyang, but Yarmolenko got in his way - both men going for the same ball and failing to do much with it.

Pretty explosive start to the second period, then, with both teams creating a big chance. BVB certainly taking the game to their opponents a little more, which they simply had to do in this second half following a reserved opening 45 minutes.

Ulreich, who has had a very good game in the Bayern goal, collects a cross with ease and quickly throws it out to spring a counter. It comes to little and Dortmund then have a chance to attack, but a lack of composure in the middle lets them down.

The frustrating thing for Dortmund is that they did not start the match in this manner. BVB now in their opponents' faces higher up the field and looking far more dangerous but, with the hour mark approaching, there is still no way through.

YELLOW CARD! Omar Toprak is shown a yellow card by the referee after catching James Rodriguez - replays suggest that he got that one badly wrong. To make matters worse for BVB, their opponents now have a free kick and a chance to slow the game down.

Bayern have had one good chance in this second half, which Lewandowski failed to make the most of, though that aside it is the hosts who have been the better. An hour now on the clock and both managers may be thinking of changing things slightly.

Bayern showing signs that they are about to move back through the gears in search of a killer third goal. If BVB can pull one back then we have a game on our hands; until then the Bavarians are comfortable enough on enemy territory.

Weigl looks for Pulisic with a lofted ball over the top, which has too much on it. The match is just drifting a little at the moment, following on from what was a very lively opening five minutes or so to the second period.

CHANCE! Very unlike Lewandowski, who sends the ball wide of target when played through by Robben. The angle was against him, granted, but he tends to bury those nine times out of 10. Will it prove to be costly? Only time will tell.

Bayern wrap up the points thanks to Lewandowski's second of the match, getting the slightest of touches to Alaba's cross to beat Burki. Dortmund punished for failing to take any of their three chances, meaning that the Bavarians will move further clear.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND SUB! Gotze, being readied to come on prior to that third goal, is finally introduced in place of Kagawa. Dortmund have now shipped 12 goals in their last four matches, having kept five clean sheets in succession to begin the season.

That third goal is actually going down as Alaba's, suggesting that Lewandowski did not get a touch. It is near impossible to tell, but the Pole did appear to get just the smallest of touches. Not that it matters all that much - Bayern are cruising.

BAYERN MUNICH SUB! A first change of the evening for the visitors, who bring on Rafinha for goalscorer Alaba. Javi Martinez then cautioned for a strong challenge on Weigl though, once again, the referee may have got that call incorrect.

BVB pressing hard for a route back into the match, but they can wave goodbye to any hopes they had of closing the gap on Bayern. In fact, Leipzig will go into the international break occupying second place thanks to their win over Hannover.

Approaching the final 10 minutes of the contest at the Westfalenstadion where, despite a few decent chances, Dortmund are heading towards a deserved defeat. A truly massive win for Bayern, who will sit four points clear of second-placed Leipzig.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND SUB! A first Klassiker experienced for Jadon Sancho, who is on in place of Yarmolenko for these closing stages. The player departing performed well overall, but he did miss his side's two best chances.

CHANGE OF REFEREE? A very rare occurrence here, as referee Tobias Stieler has pulled up with a calf strain after attempting to stop the ball! Female official Bibiana Steinhaus is waiting to come on if needed, and it looks as though that will be the case.

BAYERN MUNICH SUB! Not a bad midfield replacement to bring on to close out the match, as Arturo Vidal replaces James Rodriguez - the visitors' third and final change. Referee Tobias Stieler has run off that calf injury.

Bayern on the brink of moving four points clear of Leipzig at the top of the Bundesliga; Dortmund a further two points back. Good noise being generated around the Westfalenstadion, but the home players have been unable to feed of it.

We may now be into added time at the Westfalenstadion, but Dortmund are not prepared to give up just yet. A nice finish from Bartra, curling the ball past Ulreich after some nice play from the lively Pulisic close to the touchline.

CHANCE! Castro unable to convert at the back post after Sancho go in behind. Had that crossed the line, who knows? As it is, third-placed Dortmund now have two minutes to find two goals - surely too much to ask of Bosz's side...

The referee blows his whistle to signal the end of the match, meaning that Bayern Munich will head into the two-week break four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga standings. A well-earned win in the end, with Marc Bartra's late curler proving to be nothing more than a consolation.

That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at the Westfalenstadion. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while coverage of the evening clash from La Liga can be found here. Thanks to joining!