Cologne - Unsurprisingly, there is one dominant talking point ahead of Matchday 8 in the Bundesliga: Der Klassiker.

bundesliga.com will not only be bringing you all the build-up to the latest instalment of FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund's rivalry, but also all the pre-match chatter ahead of the eight other games this weekend.

Matchday 8 fixtures (all kick-offs 15:30 CEST/13:30 GMT unless stated)

Friday 2 October

SV Darmstadt 98 2-3 1. FSV Mainz 05

Saturday 3 October

FC Ingolstadt 04 vs Eintracht Frankfurt

Hannover 96 vs SV Werder Bremen

Hertha Berlin vs Hamburger SV

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs VfL Wolfsburg

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim vs VfB Stuttgart

Sunday 4 October

FC Schalke 04 vs 1. FC Köln

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs FC Augsburg (kick-off: 17:30 CEST/15:30 GMT)

FC Bayern München vs Borussia Dortmund (kick-off: 17:30 CEST/15:30 GMT)

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Friday, 2 October

What a start to Matchday 8! That wraps things up for Friday, but if the remaining games are anything like the one in Darmstadt this evening, we are in for a real treat!! Be sure to join us again on Saturday when we'll have build-up to all the matches, including Sunday's big one: Der Klassiker.

Teams are in!

Here are the line-ups then for Darmstadt vs Mainz. Who'll be the hero(es) this evening?

Vidal back

"Happy to be training with the team again. Mia san mia," reads Arturo Vidal's tweet below.

Gladbach on tour

The Foals will have a number of players on international duty over the next couple of weeks.

Friday night lights

Mainz travel to Darmstadt this evening for a local derby - only 31 kilometres separate the two towns. Read our exclusive preview here.

Der Klassiker calling

Our special site dedicated to Sunday's headline event is over here.

Sippel in goal

Tobias Sippel will be between the Gladbach sticks against VfL Wolfsburg tomorrow the club have confirmed. Yann Sommer broke his nose against Manchester City FC this week.

Team of the week

Unsurprisingly, Schalke's Franco Di Santo has made it onto UEFA's team of the week for the Europa League, thanks to his hat-trick against Asteras Tripolis.

The boys are back in town

Fresh from their Oktoberfest outing, Bayern's Javier Martinez, Douglas Costa and Rafinha are getting ready to face Dortmund on Sunday, probably not wearing the same outfit as they are here, however.

Train, then bus

Wolfsburg's players have trained for the last time ahead of their clash with Gladbach, after which they hopped in a bus to make the journey to Westphalia.

Werder team news

SV Werder Bremen coach Viktor Skripnik is without two first-teamers for his side's trip to Hannover 96.

Short trip for Stuttgart

At just under 100km, it is the shortest trip VfB Stuttgart have to make all season in the Bundesliga when they head to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim this Saturday. Unsurprisingly, they can expect a large following for the away day.

More Meier magic?

Eintracht Frankfurt fans will certainly hope for more goals from Alexander Meier with the Eagles heading to Ingolstadt.

Dost for the Dutch

It's a day of international call-ups and Bas Dost's phone has also been ringing today. The Netherlands have a real challenge on their hands qualifying for EURO 2016, and they could do with an in-form VfL Wolfsburg to help fire them to France.

Gladbach's proud record

The Borussia Park is not an easy place to visit, as this Tweet confirms. To find out more about Saturday's clash, read our match preview here.

Wolfsburg training

Vieirinha and Luiz Gustavo were involved in the Wolves' training session today, the club confirmed on Twitter.

Leverkusen press conference

"Bernd Leno's nomination comes at a great time," says B04 head coach Roger Schmidt. "He has been rewarded for his consistency at the highest level."

Bayern boys training

After Guardiola met the media, he went to the training field to loosen his team up for Sunday's Klassiker.

Guardiola's press conference

Here's what the Catalan had to say about Der Klassiker:

Guardiola on Lewandowski...

"Lewandowski's got a huge amount of self-confidence. He's getting a lot of crosses from out wide and these are obviously helping him a lot to score goals. We're delighted that Robert's scoring so many goals, but he needs his team-mates. He can't score all these goals by himself."

Guardiola on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang...

"Aubameyang's playing in a more central position this year. He's very quick and it's going to be difficult for our back four to control him. Aubameyang's capable of opening gaps up for his team-mates."

Guardiola on Der Klassiker...

"It's a game that everybody wants to watch. When Bayern play Dortmund, it's always special. It's not decisive for the title, though."

Guardiola on Coman...

"Let's not forget that he's only 19. With Douglas Costa, Mario Götze and him, we're very versatile. He's strong in the one-on-one and we've been very happy with him up to now."

Countdown to Der Klassiker

Pep Guardiola is about to meet the media - stay here to find out what he has to say!

Borussia Mönchengladbach press conference

It's caretaker-coach Andre Schubert's turn to get a grilling...

Germany squad announcement

No fewer than 16 Bundesliga stars have been named in the latest Germany squad for upcoming EURO 2016 qualifiers against the Republic of Ireland and Georgia. The world champions need just a point from those two games to punch their ticket to France next summer.

Infectious!

Look at Ibrahima Traore's smiling face!

Köln press conference

Peter Stöger is talking to the media ahead of his side's game at Schalke on Sunday afternoon.

Getting in shape

The FC Bayern players are back on the training pitch after their day off yesterday. You feel dizzy just watching this!

Hat-trick hero

Breitenreiter will be able to count on one particularly happy man on Sunday, with Franco Di Santo celebrating his first hat-trick for his new club in midweek.

More from Breitenreiter...

Breitenreiter focused on Köln

The Schalke head coach says his players need to forget about Thursday's win over Asteras and concentrate on beating the Billy Goats on Saturday. We'll have more from Breitenreiter shortly...

Home again

The Dortmund players and staff are returning to Germany following last night's 1-1 draw with PAOK in Greece. Next up for Thomas Tuchel's side: the league leaders.

The clock is ticking...

Just two more sleeps until Sunday's top game at the Allianz Arena. We're already tingling with excitement. How about you?

First up...

Darmstadt and Mainz go toe-to-toe in Friday's Matchday 8 opener at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor. The hosts earned an impressive point at Dortmund last time out, while Martin Schmidt's Mainz were beaten 3-0 at Bayern. Both sides will view this as a good chance to pick up a valuable three points. Don't forget to tune in to Bundesliga radio at 20:30 CEST for LIVE coverage of this one!

Grand finale!

The excitement is building ahead of Sunday's Klassiker between Bayern and Dortmund, but can the Bavarians overhaul the Yellow-Blacks at the top of the Corner Kings table? Make sure you watch our video to find out!

Four-star Blues

There were mixed fortunes for the Bundesliga's UEFA Europa League participants on Thursday evening. FC Augsburg and Borussia Dortmund both failed to win, but FC Schalke 04 recorded their second victory in as many Group K matches by beating Asteras Tripolis 4-0. Now, though, it's time to turn our attentions back to the Bundesliga.

Thursday, 1 October

Until tomorrow

We'll leave it there for the Matchday 8 build-up tonight, but be sure to check in again tomorrow ahead of the curtain-raiser between SV Sarmstadt 98 and 1. FSV Mainz 05.

Klassiker build-up!

You can find our special site devoted to Der Klassiker just over here.

Schmidt expects full-blooded encounter

Mainz head coach Martin Schmidt has had his say on tomorrow's trip to Darmstadt.

"The scene's set for a real battle. Winning the second balls will be key."

Mainz up next for valiant Lilies

SV Darmstadt 98 head coach Dirk Schuster says he's happy for the Lilies to be the underdogs in Friday's encounter with 1. FSV Mainz 05.

"Mainz have got some great individuals. We're the outsiders, but we want to make the best of being in that role."

Hecking ready for Gladbach

Despite suffering a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League last night, VfL Wolfsburg head coach Dieter Hecking believes his side can go into Saturday's clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach with their heads held high.

Laid to lawn

With Borussia Dortmund in UEFA Europa League action against PAOK tonight and then travelling to Munich for Der Klassiker on Sunday, the BVB groundsmen have taken the opportunity to relay the surface at Signal Iduna Park.

HSV family

Marcelo Diaz has clearly been made to feel very welcome at Hamburg...

Hard at work

Bremen are putting in the hard yards ahead of facing local rivals Hannover 96 this weekend.

Greek test

BVB's record against Greek sides...

Hall of fame

Marvin Schulz and Mahmoud Dahoud pose in front of their shirts in Gladbach's hallowed halls.

Just chilling

"At home now after an excellent training session," says a smiling Arturo Vidal in his tweet below.

Darmstadt press conference

"Mainz are a stable top-flight team who, in many ways, are an example for us," says Darmstadt coach Dirk Schuster.

Get well soon!

Schalke's Marco Höger has had surgery after suffering ligament damage in his left knee.

Götze preparing

"Day off today, but the focus is already completely on #FCBBVB. Here's a little something for you..." tweets Mario Götze below.

Hoffenheim press conference

"This week of training after last week's victory has obviously been a bit more relaxed. You always notice a win," says Markus Gisdol, whose side face local rivals Stuttgart this weekend.

Winning run

"Dortmund have won all five Europa League games under Thomas Tuchel, scoring 19 goals and only conceding five."

Frankfurt press conference

"We have to try to win games like this," says Eintracht Frankfurt coach Armin Veh ahead of his side's trip to Ingolstadt on Saturday.

Dortmund in Greece

Although der Klassiker may well be looming on Sunday, BVB face a Europa League clash against PAOK FC this evening.

Morning Douglas

The Bayern winger has posted this on Instagram.

Bremen press conference

Viktor Skripnik's media discussion is underway. Bremen have lost the last three in a row and you can read the preview of their clash with Hannover 96 here.

Who's your mate?

"You can't not have mate at home," reads Emiliano Insua's Instagram post below, in reference to the Argentinian tea.

Bremen press conference

"I want my team to play as if we were the favourites. It'll be a good game and I want a win," says Bremen coach Viktor Skripnik ahead of his side's local derby with Hannover 96.

Blow for Borussia

Yann Sommer will be out for an unspecified length of time after breaking his nose in last night's 2-1 defeat to Manchester City FC.

Mainz press conference

"It's going to be a closely fought affair where the fight for the second ball will be decisive," says Mainz head coach Martin Schmidt.

Stuttgart press conference

"It'll be a feisty affair with lots of fast-paced action. We're prepared for it," says Stuttgart coach Alexander Zorniger ahead of his side's local derby with Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Klassiker build-up

We've got every angle covered with our special site dedicated to the weekend's biggest clash: you can find it over here.

Augsburg in action

Europa League debutants Augsburg welcome FK Partizan to the WWK Arena this evening.

Geis primed

Schalke face Asteras Tripolis tonight in the UEFA Europa League.

Guten Tag!

Hello and welcome to bundesliga.com's live updates in the build-up to what should be a goal-filled, action-packed weekend of Matchday 8 action. Of course, the headline is Borussia Dortmund's visit to FC Bayern München and so, with no further ado, let's get underway...