Earlier this season, Borussia Dortmund defeated Bayern Munich in a last-gasp 3-2 victory, and if they can win their Matchday 28 tilt against Bayern on the road, they will show the rest of Europe how special this squad can be.
It has been a thrilling season for Borussia Dortmund under new manager Lucien Favre, whose tactical genius and love for free-flowing football have made him a beloved coach at Signal Iduna Park – a place where it's easy to feel the love.
Heading into Matchday 28, Dortmund currently sit at the top of the Bundesliga table after a stoppage time brace from clutch striker Paco Alcacer lifted Dortmund over Wolfsburg, whereas Bayern's star striker, Robert Lewandkowski, had a rare off game in a sneaky-tough road matchup with Freiburg.
Though Bayern tied and are undefeated in their last five matches, the loss of two points was sufficient to drop Bayern to second in this nail-biting title race
Despite being in first place, Dortmund have just a 17 percent win probability, which isn't a surprise. Bayern should have starters Manuel Neuer and David Alaba back from injury, whereas BVB will miss key players in Achraf Hakimi, Abdou Dialo, and Lukasz Piszczek.
Injuries are a part of the game for every team, but it has been a particularly difficult year for Dortmund on this front.
Paco Alcacer, Marco Reus, Lukasz Piszczek, and Manuel Akanji are among the best players at their positions in Europe this year, and all four have missed significant chunks of time with various ailments; that's not including all the rotation players who have missed time.
Dortmund's lack of depth and overall youth have been weaknesses at times this season, such as in their futile Champions League performance against Tottenham, when the aforementioned quartet of stars were unable to play.
Yet in spite of these difficulties, Dortmund are the ones heading into the Allianz Arena as the Bundesliga leaders, and it is their ability to overcome the odds that will keep Niko Kovac, whose squad had quite the Deutsche Pokal scare against FC Heidenheim over the week, up at night.
For example, Dortmund stole a win from Wolfsburg without Reus, as Alcacer once again came up big in the dying embers of the match, grabbing a brace.
Likewise, earlier this season, Dortmund defeated Bayern 3-2 on their home turf by scoring goals in the 67th and 73rd minute, courtesy of Reus and Alcacer, respectively.
It was a brilliant comeback from BVB, who used their usual strategy of timely counterattacks and clinical finishing to bamboozle Bayern in a span of six minutes and clinch their first win over the Die Roten since April 2017.
On Saturday evening, Dortmund have the golden opportunity to sweep Bayern. And if they do, there will be a five-point gap between both sides in the table, which could be enough to see BVB through as champions with just a handful of games remaining.
A mere tie wouldn't guarantee anything, especially given how dangerous Bayern looked, blowing out Wolfsburg 6-0 a few weeks ago, before an unlucky draw against Freiburg on Matchday 27.
A loss for Dortmund? Well, that would put Bayern in first place. And once they are a point ahead of Dortmund, this loaded squad – which has become even more dangerous now that Serge Gnabry and James Rodriguez, and Leon Gortezka have found their groove –simply will not cede their lead.
Dortmund must put Bayern in the hole by seizing this opportunity.
If they can do so, that will show the rest of Europe that this squad will be formidable one over the next few years, because for as disappointing as their Champions League exist was and for as much ground as they lost to Bayern over the past couple of months, this team wasn't expected to be this good heading into the season.
Young and inexperienced, Dortmund have proven to be talented and resilient. They've battled past injuries, and they've unearthed gems in players like Jadon Sancho, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Alcacer, and Hakimi.
Most of their players are still improving, with 12 key players on the squad being 25 or younger. Each of them have improved greatly throughout this season, and a second win over Bayern would show that they are already capable of winning the league even though they aren't at their peak.
Dortmund's next pieces under Favre will have to be added in the summer as their vision for the future continues to develop, but a Klassiker sweep would be a strong statement that BVB have already “arrived” as Bayern's true equal and a potential European giant again.
As Bayern prepares for a successful (expensive) youth movement this summer, Dortmund can show their rivals that their young squad is already capable of being Germany's best.