Bayern on a roll against Hannover

If the stats were the only factor in football, Hannover 96 would not bother travelling to Munich. The club from Lower Saxony has played in Munich 24 times - and 21 of those matches ended in the Bavarian club’s favour, with two draws. Hannover emerged victorious just once, nearly seven years ago on November 8th 2006, when they beat Bayern 1-0. Munich have won the last six home games against ‘96, with an impressive 25 goals scored to just two conceded. The last meeting in Munich ten months ago ended in a 5-0 victory for Bayern, with Javi Martínez, Toni Kroos, Franck Ribéry, Dante and Mario Gomez on the scoresheet.

Overall record in Bayern's favour

The name Bayern gives Hannover fans a headache, not only because of the trips in Munich, but also due to the overall record. Heading into the 49th meeting, Bayern have recorded 31 victories so far. On the other hand, the Lower Saxony club have managed nine wins, with eight games ending in a draw. That makes Bayern the toughest opponents of all the Bundesliga clubs for Hannover 96. On top of that, ‘96 have conceded more goals against the Bavarians than against any other club (131 goals).

Stieler in charge

Tobias Stieler will be the referee on Saturday. The 32-year-old from Hamburg will be in charge of an FC Bayern game for the third time. Last season the solicitor whistled two home games, against 1899 Hoffenheim (2-0) and Fortuna Düsseldorf (3-2). Stieler will be assisted by Florian Steuer and Sascha Thielert, with Felix Zwayer as fourth official.