Bayern Munich and Germany legend Lothar Matthäus has tipped Hansi Flick to get the record champions' season back on track - starting with Saturday's Klassiker with Borussia Dortmund.

Flick has taken caretaker charge of Bayern following the departure of Niko Kovac last weekend and Matthäus believes he is the right man to turn their fortunes around and point them back in the direction of an eighth straight Bundesliga title.

"We played together at Bayern between 1985 and 1988 and I definitely know he's good enough [for the job]," Matthäus told Kicker. "He's very clear about how he does things and has good communication, both with the starters and those on the bench.

Lothar Matthäus (l.) and Flick (c.) won five trophies together at Bayern as players in the late 1980s. - imago images

"Bayern come into Der Klassiker off the back of a 5-1 defeat to [Eintracht] Frankfurt so they're under far more pressure, but they know how to deal with this kind of pressure and that's why, for me, they're the favourites."

Matthäus is nevertheless expecting a fierce battle for the points at the Allianz Arena, suggesting that Dortmund have recovered from their own rough patch and are now back in form for the trip to Bavaria.

"They've consolidated as a team and their performance against Inter Milan [a 3-2 win in the Champions League on Tuesday] was outstanding," Matthäus said.

Achraf Hakimi starred with two goals as Borussia Dortmund fought back to beat Inter Milan 3-2 in midweek. - 2019 Getty Images

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"Their recent results have also shown that the chemistry's right again within the team. It's always a possibility that you might lose in Munich, but it's about how that happens and Dortmund are still on course for all of their season's objectives, at home and in Europe."

One of Flick's first moves was to restore the experienced Bundesliga campaigners Thomas Müller and Javi Martinez to his team and Matthäus believes that was the right move.

Summer signing Philippe Coutinho has shown glimpses of his quality, but he – like all of the summer recruits for both clubs – need to be given time to settle into their new surroundings, and Matthäus believes Der Klassiker is a game in which experience is essential.

Watch: Martinez scored when Bayern beat Dortmund 5-0 in April

"I would give all of the new recruits more time," he said. "Mats Hummels isn't really a newcomer, but even he still needs to find his feet in a new club. As for Julian Brandt, Thorgan Hazard or Nico Schulz, things are still different even if they do already know the Bundesliga well.

"It's the same at Bayern: Lucas Hernandez is out injured, Benjamin Pavard's doing a decent job… [Philippe] Coutinho's first got to get used to the Bundesliga because it's a different kind of football compared to Spain, England or in the Brazil national team."

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