Hamburg currently have a three-point advantage over their guests, but an embarrassing defeat to third division side Osnabruck in the cup and a 3-0 hammering by Rapid Vienna in the Europa League over the last 10 days have laid bare their weaknesses.
In contrast Bayern have won their last five games and cruised through their two cup games, defeating Maccabi Haifa 3-0 and Rot-Weiss Oberhausen 5-0.
And it is a former Hamburg player who has led their recent revival, albeit not the man one would expect to be firing in the goals.
Striker Ivica Olic traded places with Ze Roberto to join the long list of current players who have represented both clubs along with Piotr Trochowski, Marcell Jansen, Paolo Guerrero and Daniel van Buyten, and it is the latter, a defender by trade, who will be causing the greatest concern to Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia.
He has scored three goals in the last two games and, according to Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, he is in the form of his life.
"Daniel is certainly playing the best season since he arrived here," he told DSF television.
"He has made a massive contribution to us being more stable. He used to always have Lucio or Marting Demichelis ahead of him, but now he has the faith from his coach and he is paying it back."
Bayern will have one eye on Bayer Leverkusen's match in Cologne as they look to move to the top of the table for the first time in over 16 months.
Leverkusen are currently joint top with Hamburg ahead of their local derby at a sold-out Mungersdorfer Stadion.
Hoffenheim have matched Bayern Munich step by step over recent weeks with their impressive form leading them up the table into fourth position.
They are not in action until Sunday, when they host the league's bottom club Hertha Berlin whose coach Lucien Favre desperately needs a win to relieve some of the pressure mounting on his shoulders.
Mainz also have 11 points and will look to keep up their remarkable pace when they travel to Werder Bremen on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt defend their unbeaten start to the season at home to a misfiring Stuttgart side who should welcome Jens Lehmann back into their team while Borussia Dortmund and Schalke meet in the first big Ruhr derby of the season.
The weekend kicks off with strugglers Nurnberg and Bochum both looking for their second wins of the season at the Franken Stadion and ends with Freiburg hosting Borussia Monchengladbach.
Elsewhere, defending champions Wolfsburg need to get their home form back on track when they welcome Hannover in a northern Germany derby on Saturday.
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