Bayern are on a run of 10 games without defeat and nine straight wins, but it is still Union Berlin who lead the Bundesliga table. Given they play on Sunday at Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern have the chance to reclaim the summit again on Saturday when they head to the capital to take on Union’s city rivals Hertha Berlin (kick-off at 15:30 CET, coverage on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app with our live text and free web radio). Here’s all you need to know about the game.
Check out the best photos from final training on Friday:
Situation for Bayern
“We need to try and take the momentum into the Bundesliga,” coach Julian Nagelsmann said after the 2-0 victory at home to Inter Milan during the week. It saw Germany’s champions win all six Champions League group games for a record third time, keeping clean sheets in five of those. The defence at the Olympiastadion on Saturday should be just as sharp as the team’s attack, which is Europe’s best with 38 league goals scored and currently being led by the in-form Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Jamal Musiala.
Here’s the best facts and stats on the game at Hertha:
Opponents Hertha Berlin
No team in the Bundesliga has drawn more games than Hertha’s five. It’s seen Sandro Schwarz’s team lose just two of their last eight games, placing them 14th in the table on 11 points. However, Bayern must be wary. The Berliners have lost only once this season at their Olympiastadion, which will be sold out for the first time in 2022/23 on Saturday with a crowd of 74,667, and that was a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 4. The Old Lady looks far more stable than in recent years and has a Bayern expert in their ranks in Dodi Lukebakio. Hertha’s five-goal top scorer has also netted the same number in seven appearances against the record champions. There’s no other team in the Bundesliga he boasts such a good record against.
Nagelsmann also laid down a warning in his press conference: “I’m expecting wild Berliners – in a positive sense. They’ll play similar to how Augsburg did against us recently. We need to be prepared for that.”
See what else Nagelsmann had to say in his press conference:
Player update
There’s good news for Bayern as captain Manuel Neuer will return in the Bayern goal on Saturday following his shoulder problem, as Nagelsmann confirmed at his press conference: “Manu will travel with us again and play.” Leroy Sane and Lucas Hernandez will also be in the squad after recovering from their injuries. As well as long-term absentee Bouna Sarr, Thomas Müller and Matthijs de Ligt are also out with hip and knee issues respectively. “With Matthijs, his knee reacted again yesterday. Thomas can hopefully join in again next week,” the coach confirmed.
Hertha are definitely without strikers Stevan Jovetic and Jessic Ngankam. Fellow attacker Wilfried Kanga is a doubt due to illness.
What the coaches say
Julian Nagelsmann: “I think Sandro Schwarz likes to have high intensity in the game, chipped balls, lots of players in the centre to go for second balls and transition. They like to bring about unease. They’ll want to come into the game with a strong defence.”
Sandro Schwarz (Hertha Berlin head coach): “We know what qualities Bayern bring. Their results from recent weeks make that clear. It’ll be important for us to have a top defensive performance with a good attitude and mentality, and above all be extremely aggressive and clinical.”
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