The Bavarians remain confident they can catch the Bundesliga leaders in the second half of the 2018-19 campaign, despite facing a six point deficit

Borussia Dortmund may have enjoyed a strong start to the 2018-19 season but Manuel Neuer has not ruled out Bayern Munich catching the Bundesliga leaders.

Dortmund hold a six-point advantage at the top of the table having won 14 of their 18 matches, losing just once.

In contrast, Bayern have struggled for consistency at times, enduring tough spells in September and November – the latter including a 3-2 defeat to Dortmund.

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However, the six-time defending champions are on a run of six successive wins either side of the mid-season break to keep the pressure on Lucien Favre's leaders.

And Neuer believes Bayern can still catch Dortmund as they prepare for their first home match of 2019 against Stuttgart on Sunday.

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"Dortmund are not unbeatable you know," he told reporters at an Audi event.

"I think we saw weaknesses in the first half of the season, they did not leave many points behind, but on one occasion or another it was very close."

Chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge agrees with Neuer's assessment given the quality head coach Niko Kovac has at his disposal.

Despite Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Corentin Tolisso remaining on the injury list, the Croatian coach has managed his squad admirably to oversee a recent resurgence.


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"We are not the hunted but the hunter," Rummenigge said. "Let's just wait and see what happens.

"Dortmund has a good team, but we have not got a bad one!"

BVB are back in Bundesliga action themselves on Saturday, as they host Hannover 96 at Westfalenstadion.