FC Bayern take on FC Schalke in the first Bundesliga match on the road this season (follow the action in English from 18.30 CEST with our exclusive fcbayern.com live updates). The sides face off for the 99th time in the Bundesliga, and the record is clearly stacked in favour of the German record champions, who have won 52 and lost 18 matches, with 206 goals scored and 104 conceded. fcbayern.com has compiled the most interesting facts ahead of the clash.
The situation
After the 2-2 draw against Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga restart, Niko Kovač' men aim to win their first league match on Saturday. FC Bayern have gone unbeaten in 17 Bundesliga matches against the Ruhr valley outfit, the last defeat dating back to December 2010, a 2-0 reverse. FC Bayern have won all of their last four matches against Schalke, scoring ten goals and conceding only two.
The opponents
After finishing 14th in a disappointing season, the Royal Blues made a number of changes to their squad. 11 players have left the club, with six new signings at David Wagner's disposal. The new coach, a former Schalke pro, banks on early pressing and high-octane attacking football, but the implementation of the system takes time. Schalke were held to a goalless draw by Borussia Mönchengladbach last week.
The players
Three new signings strengthen FC Bayern's squad. Philippe Coutinho, Ivan Perišić and Michaël Cuisance joined the German record champions this summer. Kovač ruled out Coutinho as a starter against Schalke, but Perišić might feature from the off. The Bayern coach will be without former Schalke pro Leon Goretzka, who is nursing a knock, and Jérome Boateng and Fiete Arp, who are both ill.
The coaches on the match
Niko Kovač: "We must and want to win every match of course. We turned in a really good performance last weekend, the result was the only unsatisfactory thing. Now we need a different result and everyone will be happy."
David Wagner: "We'll only have a chance against Bayern, and not even a very good one, if we all push to our limits and probably beyond. We'll give it everything. Let's see what happens."
Top fact
Striker Robert Lewandowski proved his nose for goal once again when he bagged a brace against Hertha. The Bayern forward has scored 15 goals in 20 competitive matches against Schalke, netting ten times in the last eight encounters.
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