Widen the gap at the top against Gladbach: Why Bayern love kicking off the matchday

Bayern's 3-2 win in last week's top-of-the-table clash extended their lead over second place in the Bundesliga to 11 points. Now they can once again extend the gap to their closest rivals - at least temporarily. Vincent Kompany's side kick off Matchday 25 against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday evening and can then increase the pressure on Borussia Dortmund, who head to 1. FC Köln on Saturday.

Friday nights good for Bayern

Kicking off the matchday has suited the Munich men of late: FCB are unbeaten in their last 15 Friday games in the Bundesliga (12 wins, three draws) - but their last defeat did come at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach at the beginning of January 2022 (2-1). It was also the only home defeat on that day of the week in this millennium - otherwise, Bayern have won 27 times and drawn five games at home on Fridays during this period. We've put together all the key facts relating to the match for you.

Mönchengladbach have consistently proved to be awkward opponents for Bayern, but recently the balance of power has been clear: the record champions have won all of their last five Bundesliga encounters with the Foals, which equals the longest winning run in this fixture. Only FCB themselves had previously achieved this in the first five meetings in the competition almost 60 years ago (1965 to 1967).

A different class in attack

While FC Bayern are the only team apart from Borussia Dortmund to have scored at least one goal in every game this Bundesliga season and have also set a new competition record with 88 goals after 24 Bundesliga games, Gladbach have drawn a blank in ten games this season alone. That's the most in the league along with Heidenheim and Bremen. Vincent Kompany's side scored at least three goals for the 19th time this season in the recent 3-2 win against BVB and are therefore on course to set a new record. It was only in last season that the Munich men set the current record, when they scored three or more goals in 22 games.

Incidentally, Bayern have scored 26 goals in the final quarter of an hour alone this season, just one fewer than Gladbach have managed over the entire season. That already equals a club record from the Munich men's point of view. They only managed it once before, in the 1971/72 season.

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