Niko Kovac knows Borussia Dortmund must play at an extremely high level if they are to beat Bayern Munich, but he was adamant his team have their own standards to live up to.
Dortmund sit second in the Bundesliga, behind Bayern on goal difference, ahead of Saturday's Klassiker at Allianz Arena.
This will be the 141st competitive meeting between the rivals since the formation of the Bundesliga, the most-played fixture in German professional football.
Bayern have suffered more defeats against Dortmund than any other opponent in professional football (33); however, they have lost only one of their last 17 meetings (W13 D3 L1), a 0-2 home defeat in March 2024.
And Kovac, whose team sealed a last-gasp DFB-Pokal win over Werder Bremen on Tuesday, knows the scale of the challenge facing Dortmund.
"This certainly makes things a lot more exciting than in recent years," said former Bayern boss Kovac.
"But that doesn’t make it any easier, because Bayern is undoubtedly the best of the best. Not just in Germany, but also in Europe.
"We have to play at the very highest level. But we're BVB, we have our own standards, and we intend to live up to them."
The boss enjoyed that one. https://t.co/Imo4HyMQjX
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) October 28, 2026
Bayern and Dortmund are the only two teams remaining unbeaten in the 2026-27 Bundesliga season (W5 D2 each).
In two of the last three Bundesliga seasons, Bayern have handed BVB their first defeat of the campaign, winning 2-1 in Munich on matchday seven last season and 4-0 in Dortmund on matchday 10 in 2023-24.
Bayern's Michael Olise has recorded at least one goal and one assist in three of his last four Bundesliga appearances, as many as in his previous 23 league games combined.
Olise's nine goal involvements (six goals, three assists) in the 2026-27 Bundesliga are the joint-most in the league, level with team-mate Harry Kane, who on Monday won the Ballon d'Or.
"There's no need to say a word about him," replied Kovac when quizzed on Kane.
"The mere fact that he received [the Ballon d'Or] says everything about him. He was already a top player in England. To take another leap forward now is sensational."