After a poor opening day of the season, Bayern Munich are firmly back on track. Four wins out of four in all competitions, including midweek qualification for the Champions’ League Group Stages, mean Jupp Heynckes’ will side go into this Saturday’s game at Kaiserslautern on a real high. Their opponents, on the other hand, are struggling; just two points from their opening three Bundesliga fixtures sees Macro Kurz’s outfit languishing in fifteenth place, just one point off the bottom of the table. The home side will be heavy underdogs for this one.
Likely Line-Ups
Having been absent in Bayern’s midweek Champions League game at FC Zurich, Rafinha is expected to return at right-back. Daniel Van Buyten was exceptional in last week’s 5-0 win over Hamburg and may keep his place in the heart of the back-four at the expense of new signing Jerome Boateng. Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller are likely to battle it out for the central attacking midfield slot.
For Kaiserslautern, Martin Amedick made his first start of the season last weekend in the 1-1 draw at Cologne and may keep his place at centre half, meaning Mathias Abel could start on the bench once again. Left winger Ivo Ilicevic and right-back Florian Dick have been the two form players so far for the hosts and will be looking to take their recent good displays up a notch if the home side are to prevail.
Team Statistics
A look at the Bundesliga team statistics so far this season highlights just what a task Kaiserslautern have on their hands- Bayern have had the most shots (14) per game and the most on target (8), while their opponents have averaged 9 shots per game, with 5 on target.
Defensively, too, Bayern have conceded the least number of shots per game (6) while Kaiserslautern have conceded an average of 14 shots. The home side have made 21 fouls per game, the second worst rate of any side in Germany’s top division, with Bayern making just 12 per game in comparison.
Bayern have had 63% possession on average and 86% pass accuracy- once again, both these figures are the best in the Bundesliga. Clearly, Kurz’s side are up against it this weekend.
Key Battles
Robben has been in sensational form in his two appearances for Bayern and Kaiserslautern’s left-back Jessen will have his work cut out to prevent the Dutchman running riot. Robben has been Bayern’s major goal threat, averaging 3.5 shots per game whereas Jessen has managed 0.7 blocks per game; joint-bottom of the home side’s back-four. The Bayern winger has also managed a fantastic 3.5 key passes per game- Jessen will need to be at his best to stop this creativity and with 2.3 interceptions per game, he has, once again, been weak compared to his defensive team mates- not a good sign for Kurz’s outfit.
Jessen has only been beaten by an average of 0.7 dribbles per game but he’s yet to come face-to-face with an opponent of Robben’s ability- the Dutchman has made 3.5 successful dribbles per game, once again the best of any Bayern player. A look at the average number of tackles by the Kaiserslautern back-four again suggests a weakness in Jessen’s game- while left-back Florian Dick has made an average 2.7, he makes less than half that tally, with just 1.3 per game. Robben’s ability to keep the ball has been brilliant- he has yet to be dispossessed this season on the domestic front.
Robben has averaged a match rating of 8.47 per game so far, the second best in the Bundesliga, with Jessen’s unimpressive showings giving him a WhoScored.com average of just 6.30 per game so far. Come Saturday, he could be on a hiding to nothing.
Holger Badstuber v Itay Shechter
If Kaiserslautern are to break down the stubborn Bayern rear-guard, much will rely on the performance of Itay Shechter. The club have found the net just twice this season and the Israeli has scored 1 of those goals; he’s up against a strong opponent in Badstuber, though, and their head-to-head looks set to be a closely-fought one.
Shechter has had 2.3 shots per game, easily the most of any Kaiserslautern player, but he may have found his equal in Badstuber- the centre-half has averaged 1 block per game and has been integral to Bayern low shot concession. Shechter is second best creator for his side, with 1.7 key passes per game but Badstuber’s reading of the game has been supreme, with 2.7 interceptions thus far.
The Kaiserslautern forward has been exceptional when it comes to taking on an opponent- he’s made 4 successful dribbles per game, better than Robben, though his Bayern counterpart has been beaten by just 0.3 dribbles per game. This particular aspect of their encounter looks an intriguing one.
Shechter has been dispossessed 3.3 times per game and though Badstuber has made just 0.7 tackles per game, his defensive stats elsewhere suggest he may have the beating of the forward. In terms of match ratings, both are fairly even- Badstuber has 7.20 on average from WhoScored.com, while Shechter comes in at 7.02. Bayern will no doubt control the game and chances may be scarce for the home side but if anyone looks like finding the net, it’s Shechter.
