On Saturday afternoon (15:30 CEST), FC Bayern travel to 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Matchday 29 of the Bundesliga season. Against the team from the Rhineland-Palatinate, who are now unbeaten in nine games, the Munich side will be looking to maintain their lead in the German top flight and take another step closer to their 11th consecutive league title. Check out our facts and stats on the match to find out why head coach Thomas Tuchel's team should win their 18th Bundesliga match of the season against the Zerofivers.
1. Close Rückrunde rivals go head to head
Mainz 05, the third-best team of the Rückrunde (22 points), host FC Bayern (23 points), who are second-best in the Rückrunde stats - only Borussia Dortmund have picked up more points in the second half of the season so far (26 points). At the same time, Mainz are also enjoying their best Rückrunde in the history of the club in the Bundesliga. In the last nine games, the Zerofivers have picked up an impressive 19 of their 42 points and have yet to come off the pitch as losers (5 wins, 4 draws).
2. FCB on the verge of a new Bundesliga record
Benjamin Pavard's 18th minute opener last weekend against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (1-1) was Bayern's 52nd league goal scored in the first half of a league game this season. The German record champions only previously achieved such a high figure in the 2020/21 campaign. If the men from Munich score in the first half for the 53rd time this term on their visit to Mainz, it'll be a new Bundesliga record.
3. Munich side with clear lead in direct comparison
FC Bayern and 1. FSV Mainz 05 have met 33 times in the Bundesliga so far. The stats speak clearly in favour of the Munich side. The German record champions have won 24 times, while the Zerofivers have only triumphed six times over the Reds (3 draws). However, Mainz won their last two league games at home against FCB. A look at the two clashes this season so far is encouraging: both in the Bundesliga home game (6-2) and in the DFB Cup round of 16 at Mainz (4-0), the men from Munich put in a strong performance and clearly put FSV in their place.
4. Bayern's passing strengths
Although the two teams are almost equal in terms of points picked up in the Rückrunde, there's a clear difference between them in terms of passing accuracy. While the men from Munich have the best pass completion rate in the league with 87 percent, Mainz have the weakest with 68 percent. However, 47 per cent of the Zerofivers' passes in the Rückrunde have gone forward - proportionally the highest in the league.
5. Tuchel returns to his old stomping ground
Thomas Tuchel is in for a special business trip, as the 49-year-old is returning to his old place of work for the first time as FCB coach. Born in Bavaria, Tuchel coached Mainz 05 in 170 Bundesliga games from 2009 to 2014, racking up 65 wins in the process. This makes Tuchel Mainz's record coach in terms of both the number of games and the number of wins. By the way: since leaving the Rhineland-Palatinate capital, Tuchel has come up against his old employer four times (always as coach of Borussia Dortmund) and has yet to lose (3 wins, 1 draw).
The FC Bayern fans will be more than happy if Benjamin Pavard repeats this impressive feat this weekend:
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