Bayern Munich vs Schalke 04 19/09/20

19 September 2020

Bayern Munich launch their Bundesliga title defense at the Allianz Arena, as they take on a Schalke 04 side they’ve beaten in eight of their last 11 top-flight H2Hs held at this venue (D3).

Not only Bayern’s last Bundesliga home loss to Schalke dates back to 2009, but seven of their eight victories since have yielded a full-time margin of over 1.5 goals. Notably, Hansi Flick has turned the ‘Bavarians’ into a force to be reckoned with since taking over managerial reins from Niko Kovac, as they enter the new season carrying an intimidating 20-game unbeaten Bundesliga run (W19, D1), with the wins in the last 13. Remarkably, 15 of their 19 triumphs during that 20-match sequence came via at least a two-goal margin, with 13 seeing perennial German champions score over 2.5 goals. Additionally, free-scoring Bayern Munich netted more home Bundesliga goals than any other side in 2019/20 (53), managing an average of 3.11 goals scored per fixture.

Meanwhile, saying that the visitors have endured a disappointing calendar year so far might be an understatement. Indeed, after beating Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0 in their first Bundesliga game in 2020, ‘Die Königsblauen’ have gone winless in 16 top-flight matches (D6, L10). What’s more, a lack of firepower up front has seen David Wagner’s side draw a blank in six of nine Bundesliga trips since the calendar flipped (D3, L6) and score precisely once per match in the other three. Particularly ponderous in the final third before the break, they registered just six (33.33%) of total 18 league goals scored away from home in 2019/20 the first-half of play. Improving that record will be quite daunting for Schalke now, considering they’ve netted under 1.5 goals in all 22 of their previous competitive trips to Munich.