Before FC Bayern's away match at Bremen kicks off on Saturday, the cry of "O'zapft is!" will once again be heard in Munich. While the beer will be flowing for 16 days at the Theresienwiese, the German record champions will be hoping to down their opponents. Will Vincent Kompany's team also have something to celebrate on the pitch? A look at the statistics offers hope.
Unbeaten in six Wiesn matches
Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies and Co beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 at home in 2022, wearing the maroon Oktoberfest shirt.
The Reds traditionally present themselves in strong form for the start of Oktoberfest. Although they lost the last time they played on the day of tapping (1-0 at Augsburg on 17 September 2022), the Munich men were unbeaten in 10 games at the start of the festival before that. FCB fans can therefore hope that there'll be double cause for celebration on Saturday.
The recent record also favours Bayern, who have not lost any of their last six competitive matches during Oktoberfest, with five wins and one 2-2 draw at RB Leipzig on 30 September 2023.
A force at home - also during Oktoberfest
In 2021, Bayern thumped VfL Bochum 7-0 in the green Wiesn shirt.
The Allianz Arena is particularly kind to the German record champions during the world's largest folk festival. They've won each of their last three Wiesn matches on home turf and have been particularly prolific in front of goal. A 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen (2022) was followed by a 4-3 success against Manchester United in the Champions League last season and a 7-0 rout over VfL Bochum. The latter was FCB's biggest win during Oktoberfest in 40 years, since the 10-0 victory against Anorthosis Famagusta in September 1983.
In any case, Bayern goals are all but guaranteed during the Wiesn. The Bavarians have only failed to score in one of their last 25 home games at this time of the year (74 goals): in a 3-0 loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2018. Since promotion to the Bundesliga in 1965, the German record champions have netted an average of 2.3 goals per game during the Oktoberfest weeks – and won the majority of the matches in doing so. Of 237 fixtures in all competitions during the period, FCB have registered 139 wins (D54 L44).
Gerd Müller the record goalscorer during Wiesn
Gerd Müller fired FC Bayern to a 5-1 victory in their first Oktoberfest match in the Bundesliga on 18 September 1965 against Karlsruher SC.
By the way, Bayern's first Wiesn match in the Bundesliga took place on 18 September 1965 at the Grünwalder Stadion. The opponents were Karlsruher SC, with Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller among the goals in a 5-1 win. 'Der Bomber' is also the FCB player with the most Bundesliga home goals during Oktoberfest (19), followed by Robert Lewandowski (17) and Karl-Heinz-Rummenigge and Roland Wohlfarth (both 10).
Here are more facts on the clash in Bremen:
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