MUNICH — Modern football hype prefers it when we place everything in a convenient box that doesn’t always reflect reality. I suppose it’s understandable.

Covering the German game as a commentator, however, you quickly resist the temptation to make Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund what advertising moguls might have us do with a fixture that has come to be known as der Klassiker.

It doesn’t lend itself to a simplistic “clash of the titans” narrative. Nuance and context are needed when understanding what this confrontation is.

Yes, it is the most-high profile Bundesliga fixture that the wider world often associates with the league and it features two heavyweight clubs, indeed the two most avidly followed in the Bundesrepublik. The action — as was the case last season in a pair of thrilling score draws — can be highly absorbing in front of some of the largest crowds in the world and offers a window into who is currently the best team in Germany.

However, this is not the German rivalry to end all rivalries along the lines of Real Madrid against Barcelona, Celtic vs. Rangers or Galatasaray against Fenerbahce. Nor should we pretend it is. Bayern fans simply don’t obsess on a weekly Schadenfreude basis over BVB, and the same is true of those of a schwarzgelb persuasion with regard to the Rekordmeister.

Some would argue that calling it a rivalry is stretching it, although it is certainly a Spitzenduell (a duel of top teams).

The fixture began to gain prominence in the 1990s with the threat to Bayern from the industrial west under the aegis of Ottmar Hitzfeld, who would later take his coaching talents to Munich. Back then, Bayern were not as dominant as they are now and players didn’t view Bayern-BVB as a cut above other matches.

Arguably the greatest era for this tussle was during Jürgen Klopp’s time in charge of BVB. Dortmund lifting the Meisterschale in 2011 and 2012 added spice and tension and it set the table for the all-German 2013 Champions League final at Wembley. This time, Bayern were victorious in a nailbiter.

The fact remains that BVB have come up empty in their Bundesliga title quest since 2012, most painfully in 2023, when they failed to play the considerable cards in their deck and gifted Bayern a winning hand on the final day.

In the past two seasons, der Klassiker, while still the most watched fixture in the Oberhaus, has played second fiddle on a competitive basis to Bayern’s meetings with 2024 champions Bayer Leverkusen.

This term, there’s no doubt the pecking order has shifted again. Bayern, under Vincent Kompany appear to have one of their most formidable formulas in several years. It raises the question: Can anyone get close to them in the Bundesliga?

The evidence of the first six matchdays is that BVB are likely the only team with a chance of preventing a Bayern runaway. They lack Bayern’s overall quality but there is a tenacity and defensive resilience about Dortmund in their current guise under Niko Kovac that makes you think they could, on a very good day, end Bayern’s flawless record in all competitions so far this season.

I find there is a general erroneous belief among casual fans that Bayern almost always beat BVB, and certainly in Munich. In fact, Dortmund’s past two visits have produced a 2-0 win and a 2-2 draw, the latter well merited with the pressure on to lift themselves up into a Champions League place against the odds.

Bayern will be firm favorites on Saturday, though. How could it be otherwise considering their 10 straight competitive wins to start the season with 38 goals scored?

The loose ends from Kompany’s first campaign at the helm have been tightened up to the point where it’s difficult to discern a weakness. Even with Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies and Hiroki Ito still on the sidelines, and Thomas Müller no longer part of the equation, Bayern are markedly better than they were up and down the pitch when the Belgian took over.

It’s natural to highlight Harry Kane, whose tally of 11 goals from six Bundesliga matches so far puts him on a pace to obliterate Robert Lewandowski‘s 41-goal single-season record. I’ve spoken at length in this space about Kane’s increased versatility with adept long-range passing and dropping into the Musiala position for increased effectiveness part of his repertoire.

But it’s also worth taking note of Bayern’s improved team statistics in the running and sprinting department. Rarely does the team with the highest possession percentage lead the field in distance covered, a category normally reserved for a team designed to play gegen den Ball (against the ball).

Dortmund don’t play with an especially high line and it’s to be expected that their Dreierkette (back three) will follow similar tactics at the Allianz Arena, while hoping to make the Umschaltmomente (transitional moments) count. This plays to the strength of the speedy Karim Adeyemi and natural line leader Serhou Guirassy.

To me, this encounter doesn’t actually need a vapid wrestling style introduction. It’s surely enough to make it about perfect Bayern and unbeaten Dortmund, first vs. second, on a collision course and an engrossing football contest.

And the German language has the perfect word for the occasion: richtungsweisend (pointing the way ahead).

The Dallas Cowboys’ already rough defense took an unexpected hit Friday because of an at-home injury.

Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs suffered an “accident” at home that landed him in concussion protocol, head coach Brian Schottenheimer said Friday.

The injury will force Diggs to miss Dallas’ game Sunday against its NFC East rival, the Washington Commanders.

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Schottenheimer said the accident occurred Thursday night, less than 72 hours before kickoff.

It has been a nightmare season for the Cowboys defensively, as they have allowed the most yards per game (411.7) and the second-most points (30.7) in the league.

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs (7) takes the field to play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.  (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)

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Because of that, the Cowboys are 2-3-1 in a division that now seems like it could be a dogfight. The reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles are 4-2 and are looking to become the first back-to-back NFC East champs in two decades, but the Commanders are 3-3, and the New York Giants moved to a surprising 2-4 after taking down the Eagles last week.

Injuries have riddled Diggs over the last few years. After being a first-team All-Pro in 2021 and then making his second Pro Bowl the following year, Diggs played in just two games in 2023 and missed six last season.

Trevon Diggs of the Dallas Cowboys walks off the field against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Oct. 16, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

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He has not played up to his Pro Bowl self, as he is still waiting on his first interception, and even defended pass. But a mainstay for the Dallas defense is out for the foreseeable future, which is never good news.

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AC Milan and United States star Christian Pulisic is headed back to Italy after international duty with a hamstring injury, and although the U.S. winger still has to be fully evaluated by his club, reports say he could be sidelined for nearly a month.

That would mean Pulisic would not only miss Sunday’s match against Fiorentina but also Serie A matches against Pisa, Atalanta, Roma and Parma as the friendly matches played by the U.S. could cost Milan dearly.

Despite the reports, a source told ESPN that Pulisic’s return flight to Milan had been delayed and that he was still in the United States, adding that no scans had been done yet to determine the extent of his injury.

Pulisic has been Milan’s best player by far this season, with six goals and two assists in seven matches before a rare missed penalty in a goalless draw against Juventus before the international break.

Pulisic, 27, was slowed by a right ankle injury last week and only entered Friday’s 1-1 draw against Ecuador in the 73rd minute. Despite that — and the matches only being friendlies — he started Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Australia but was forced off after 26 minutes with an apparent hamstring injury.

After the match, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino suggested the change in climate and altitude between the team’s first game in Austin and the game against Australia in Denver as a possible contributing factor to Pulisic’s injury.

“I think it’s a thing that is a massive risk. I don’t want to say that Christian or if it’s something because, but I think it was really tough for the player,” Pochettino said. “We know to prepare the game and then to play. We got really sad about this [Pulisic] situation because I think it is difficult.

“I think the [temperature] difference [between Austin and Colorado] and that can affect your body and everything. That is difficult. But yes, that is a thing that we need to fix for the future when we come from Europe because [the altitude] can affect [things].”

The Rossoneri will hope to have him back at least for the derby match against Inter Milan on Nov. 23 — after the next international break.

Milan is third in Serie A, two points below AS Roma and defending champion Napoli.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story. ESPN writer Jeff Carlisle was also a contributor.