Not only is this an encounter between the two best teams this season; it is a meeting of the best strikers (Erling Haaland has 10 goals in 10 matches, Robert Lewandowski has 27 in 25) and the best creators (Jadon Sancho and Thomas Müller have racked up 17 assists each) too. Here are the facts on Tuesday evening's table-topping clash.

The scenario: Second versus first in the overall table, second versus first in the 2020 table. The best team at home against the strongest team on the road. It couldn't be more of a table-topping clash. A win for BVB would see them close the gap to FCB to one point, while a defeat would leave them seven points adrift of their domestic rivals.

Home/away: Borussia Dortmund have won each of their five Bundesliga home games in the second half of the season, scoring 19 goals and conceding one, and are unbeaten in their last 14 matches at Signal Iduna Park. BVB have found the net at least once in each of their last 38 Bundesliga home games (an ongoing club record) and have recently kept four consecutive clean sheets – their longest such run for more than 10 years. Bayern Munich have won each of their last six away games in the league, scoring 23 and conceding just two. Their last away defeat was by a 2-1 scoreline in Mönchengladbach on 7 December.

Personnel matters: Dortmund are still without Dan-Axel Zagadou, Marco Reus and Nico Schulz, while Bayern are missing Coutinho, Niklas Süle and Corentin Tolisso.

Head-to-head record: This will be the 32nd competitive meeting between the two clubs since November 2011 (Bundesliga, DFB Cup, Super Cup, Champions League). During this period there have been 15 Bayern wins, six draws and 10 Dortmund triumphs. The men from Munich might have almost twice as many wins in this fixture as their North Rhine-Westphalian counterparts (47-25), but they have only lost more matches to Bremen (26 defeats). In Dortmund there have been 16 BVB wins, 15 FCB victories and 19 draws.

Statistics: The Black & Yellows have won each of their last six Bundesliga matches and lost only one of their past 10. BVB have scored at least one goal in each of their past 16 Bundesliga matches and kept 12 clean sheets – more than any club in the division and already more clean sheets than they accumulated in the entirety of last season (10). Borussia have not yet given away a single penalty this term, while Bayern have won the second-most spot-kicks (five) after Freiburg (six). They have also won each of their past six Bundesliga fixtures, are unbeaten in 13 rounds and have scored at least one goal in every match this term. Only Leipzig (27) have conceded fewer goals than the Bavarians (28).

Biggest home win: On 3 June 1967, the Black & Yellows ran out 4-0 winners over Bayern Munich at the Rote Erde Stadium courtesy of braces from Lothar Emmerich and Reinhold Wosab.
Compiled by Boris Rupert