FC Bayern's objective in the Bundesliga match away to SV Werder Bremen on Saturday (live text and free Web Radio commentary from 15:30 CEST on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app) should be clear: make it a perfect first week with midweek fixtures of this young season! After the emphatic wins at Holstein Kiel (6-1) and against Dinamo Zagreb (9-2), read how Vincent Kompany's side intend to make it three wins in eight days against unbeaten Bremen in our preview.
The photos from Friday's final training session:
The state of play for Bayern
Bayern's on-song attack have fired in 15 goals in the last two games – and coach Kompany is even more spoilt for chance in his team selection after Leroy Sané made his first appearance of the season in the memorable success against Zagreb in the Champions League and scored 17 minutes after coming on. Now it's time for Munich to unleash the firepower of Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry & Co on the road in the north as well. "Bayern against Bremen is a traditional fixture," said Kompany. "It's a special game tomorrow and that's how we'll prepare it." He and his team are aiming to stay top of the Bundesliga in their second away league outing of the season. The German record champions are the only side with a 100 percent record in the division and are currently two points ahead of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig at the top.
"We want to show a good attacking performance tomorrow," added Kompany at Friday's press conference as he placed the focus fully on the match in Bremen – despite questions about the crunch clash against champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen next Saturday. There's plenty of time in the coming week to prepare for that one, with no midweek fixture on the schedule. First of all, a tricky assignment at the Weserstadion needs to be mastered, which requires every man in the squad. " The squad isn't a luxury, we need it to achieve our goals," said Kompany.
Kompany also spoke with sporting director Christoph Freund at the press conference about playing style and defending:
The opponents: Werder Bremen
With a 1-0 victory at the Allianz Arena in January, Werder ended a 15-year wait without a win over Bayern. Ole Werner's men will be hoping to build on that on Saturday, but they should be warned: the last time they triumphed at home against the Bavarians was in 2006. Despite Bayern's recent results, the Werderaner aren't frightened ahead of the encounter. "I had the goal music stuck in my head during the Champions League game," joked Werner at his press conference. "That shows they're in very good form and have tremendous quality in all positions. We know that one of the top teams in Europe are coming our way."
Bremen haven't started the campaign badly either: victory at Energie Cottbus in the DFB Cup has been followed by two draws against Augsburg and Dortmund as well as a win at Mainz in the Bundesliga. "We want to cause an upset," Werner stated. Winger Derrick Köhn, who played for FC Bayern II from 2017 to 2020 and scored in the recent 2-1 win at Mainz, probably has the same thing on his mind.
The facts on the clash with the North Germans:
The team news
According to Kompany, "it looks good" for captain Manuel Neuer after the goalkeeper was taken off as a precaution against Zagreb following an acrobatic clearance. Hiroki Ito (metatarsal fracture), Josip Stanišić (knee ligament tear), Daniel Peretz (muscle tendon injury), Arijon Ibrahimović (muscle tear) and Sacha Boey (meniscus) remain sidelined, though.
For Werder, ex-Bayern man and captain Marco Friedl is suspended while Justin Njinmah (ligament) and Milos Veljkovic (ankle) are ruled out through injury. On alternatives, Werner said: "We have two options at the back in Julian Malatini and Amos Pieper. Derrick Köhn has also helped out energetically out wide. We've got two different types of player up front in Keke Topp and Marco Grüll."
What the coaches say
It's not about running more. If we're scoring goals, then it's all good to me. It's more about how we act in and out of possession. The players are very fit and we switch a lot too.
Vincent Kompany
We need a top performance, both in our play and without the ball. Nevertheless, we can go into the game feeling good. Even if it's the most difficult task in the Bundesliga, we want to go in it to win it. We need to be at our best to do that, though.
Ole Werner (SV Werder Bremen)
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