Into the home straight of 2020 - Bayern host Bremen

Due to the international break, it's been quieter than usual on Säbener Straße in the last few days, but with the home match against Werder Bremen, FC Bayern will now start into the home straight of 2020 on Saturday (kick-off at 15.30 CET, coverage via our live text commentary and free web radio). In our preview, fcbayern.com brings you all you need to know on the upcoming North-South classic.

The situation for FC Bayern

The Bavarians go into the clash with Werder as league leaders and of course they are determined to defend that position. However, the preparation for the home game against Bremen wasn't easy, as due to the international break Hansi Flick was only able to work with the whole team again on Friday. Europe's Coach of the Year was certainly delighted with the final training session. "The team showed a quality and intensity from the very first moment. That wasn't to be expected," he said in view of the heavy defeat the German national team suffered against Spain. "It was good training session and we're well prepared for Werder Bremen," said Flick, who is about to take charge of his 50th competitive game as head coach of Bayern against the Green-Whites.

Click here for more facts and stats on the North-South classic:

The opponents: Werder Bremen

After the north Germans only managed to avoid the drop last season via the relegation play-off, they started well into the new season. Florian Kohfeldt's team remain undefeated in their last six league games, with the last four games all ending in 1-1 draws (with two wins), and currently lie in ninth place. Their only defeat this season so far came in a 4-1 home loss to Hertha Berlin. "We go into the next few weeks full of anticipation. We've built up a perhaps not good, but acceptable buffer in terms of points, which will make things easier going into the upcoming games. Everything is geared towards keeping on getting results," the 38-year-old head coach said confidently ahead of his 100th Bundesliga match.

Personnel, tactics and more: Check out Hansi Flick's final press conference before the game against Werder:

Team news

Tanguy Nianzou has been waiting a long time for this moment. The 18-year-old Frenchman, who arrived as a new signing in the summer, suffered an injury at the start of the season and will be part of the Bayern squad for the first time against Werder. But Flick now has a different problem. "Things are a bit tight in midfield," said the treble coach. In addition to Joshua Kimmich (outer meniscus surgery), Corentin Tolisso, who picked up an injury with the national team is also out. "He has muscular problems," explained Flick, who also has to do without Alphonso Davies (ligament injury).

At Werder, striker Davie Selke (groin strain) returns to the squad. So Kohfeldt is only missing Milos Veljkovic and Niclas Füllkrug.

What the coaches say

Hansi Flick:: "Bremen haven't had to do without many internationals so have spent two weeks getting ready for the game. The team will be tactically well-prepared and will make life difficult for us. In the last game in Bremen, they were very compact and were quick on the break. We expect the same tomorrow."

Florian Kohfeldt (Werder Bremen head coach): "It's a terrific game for us. We're very keen, you can see that in the team. What I will say to the team: Forget the table, forget where we stand, we have to be able to look forward to competing against the best team in Europe. We must have the courage to play football. Perhaps we'll fly back to Bremen on Saturday having achieved something historic."

There have been 108 clashes in the league between Bayern and Bremen so far, including, of course, some interesting stories: