Bayern’s last game before the second international break of the season takes them to fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday (kick-off at 6.30pm CEST, live coverage on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app with our text commentary and free web radio). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the match in our preview.
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It’s been a pretty much perfect start to the season for Vincent Kompany’s men, who made it nine wins from as many competitive fixtures with Tuesday’s 5-1 victory at Pafos in the Champions League. And given the team’s impressive goal difference of +27, Bayern have set a new record for best start by a club in Europe’s top five leagues, beating the nine wins and +26 goal difference that Borussia Dortmund managed at the start of 2015/16. It’s an impressive stat, but not one that interests the coach.
Read up on the pre-match stats:
“What’s important is that we’re up there in March when it’s getting towards titles,” said Kompany. Saturday’s game against Frankfurt is much more about “us maintaining our momentum and performing in a way that helps us. That’s our priority”. He therefore wants his team to do all they can for “the right performance, for us to win and get three points”. It would also be the ideal warm-up for the squad prior to their traditional Oktoberfest visit on Sunday, before many players go off and join their national teams. It means Bayern need to do their job on Saturday first, if they’re to really enjoy themselves on Sunday. “I want to win on Saturday. I can keep both things apart and have full motivation for both days,” the 39-year-old explained.
Read more from Kompany’s pre-match press conference here:
Opponent: Eintracht Frankfurt
Frankfurt were also on their travels in the Champions League this week, but their 5-1 scoreline was far less pleasing from their perspective as they were beaten by Atletico Madrid. It’s yet another inconsistent but entertaining result for Eintracht, whose five competitive fixtures since the last international break have seen 33 goals, with Frankfurt scoring 16 and conceding 17. The Eagles had opened their Champions League campaign with an impressive 5-1 win at home to Galatasaray, while their last two Bundesliga games have also been memorable encounters, beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 6-4 but also losing 4-3 at home to Union Berlin.
Despite those up-and-down displays, Kompany still had a warning about Frankfurt’s virtues. “They’re really good in attack at the moment. It’s really impressive, but we also score lots of goals,” the Belgian stated, who believes Saturday’s game is absolutely one to watch. “There’s probably nobody betting on a 0-0. I’d definitely watch a match like this,” he added. These fixtures have also gone both ways in recent years, with Bayern beating Frankfurt by four goals or more three times in the last five-and-a-half years, but Eintracht also claiming two 5-1 victories in that time. “We know Bayern have brutal quality,” said Frankfurt head coach and former Bayern assistant Dino Toppmöller. “But we should go into the game with the attitude of wanting to show everyone that we want to win.”
Take a closer look at Eintracht’s team:
Team news
Bayern are still without long-term absentees Alphonso Davies (cruciate ligament), Hiroki Ito (metatarsal) and Jamal Musiala (ankle and leg), as well Josip Stanišić (knee) and Jonas Urbig (adductor). There are no new concerns following Tuesday’s game, with Kompany confirming, “If everything goes well, we can go into the game with the same squad as against Pafos”.
Frankfurt are missing Jessic Ngankam (leg) and Rasmus Kristensen (thigh).
What the coaches say
„We want to do what we’re capable of in attack and be defensively solid against a good attacking team. Frankfurt are obviously dangerous, but that’s also exciting for us.”
Vincent Kompany
„It’s about attitude. If you’re the underdog, you also need to play like an underdog. And that means running, scratching and biting.”
Dino Toppmöller (Eintracht Frankfurt)
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