At home FC Bayern have only lost one of the last 27 fixtures against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, with 21 wins and five draws. This 2-1 loss dates back to 28 October 2012. At the same time it was the most recent defeat in the first half of a season for FC Bayern, who are since unbeaten in 44 matches before the midpoint of the season.
73rd Bundesliga clash
FC Bayern and Leverkusen face off for the 73rd time in the Bundesliga. The German record champions have won 42 times. Leverkusen only left the pitch as winners 16 times, with 14 games ending in a draw. For Leverkusen 136 goals conceded are the most against any single Bundesliga team, as are the 42 losses to the Reds.
Müller in fine early-season form
Thomas Müller currently tops the Bundesliga scorer rankings with three goals. The Germany international has only once previously scored three times in the first two matches, in the 2012-13 treble season. With his goal in Hoffenheim he moved ahead of Arjen Robben (73) and is now the player who has scored the most Bundesliga goals (74) in the FCB squad.
Beware of Calhanoglu
In the last match Hakan Calhanoglu netted a direct free-kick in the Bundesliga for the eleventh time – it was the winner in Bayer's 1-0 victory away to Hannover. The Turkey international has only been in the German top tier since the 2012-13 campaign. For comparison, only former Juventus star Andrea Pirlo scored as many times from a set-piece in this period. Cristiano Ronaldo netted “only” nine direct free-kicks.
Meyer as referee
Experienced official Florian Meyer will referee Saturday evening’s game. His assistants are Christoph Bornhorst and Guido Kleve, with Daniel Siebert as the fourth official. Meyer has taken charge of 50 FCB Bundesliga matches so far, with the Reds winning 30 times. Most recently the 46-year-old refereed the 2-0 home defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach in March.
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