Bayern Munich vs Schalke 04 26/01/20

26 January 2020

Bayern Munich and Schalke 04 go head-to-head in a massive Bundesliga (BL) showdown at the Allianz Arena this weekend.

The hosts are enjoying a purple patch of form, having put together four league victories, scoring over 2.5 goals in three of those successes. What’s more, the reigning BL holders have won four of their last five top-flight home matches (L1), with all but one of those fixtures producing over 2.5 goals. The Bavarians must be lining up another success here, as they take on a team they’ve beaten in seven of their last ten BL H2Hs held in Munich (D3). Additionally, Bayern have bagged 2+ goals in all seven of those wins, finding the opening goal in every single clash during that ten-game sequence. Hansi Flick’s men rarely drop points when they draw first blood, having won four of five BL home games where they scored the first goal, with the sole exception of a 2-2 draw with Hertha.

As for the visitors, they come into this encounter on the back of a comfortable 2-0 home triumph over Borussia Monchengladbach that has seen them extend their unbeaten BL run to four matches (W2, D2). But, ‘Die Knappen’ have endured mixed fortunes in their past five BL road trips (W2, D1, L2), with three of those fixtures producing over 2.5 goals and seeing both teams score. David Wagner’s men need time to turn their engines on when they play away from home. Indeed, they’ve failed to find the net inside the opening 15 minutes of play in all nine of their BL road trips so far this season. Schalke’s away action usually sparks into life after the break, with ten of their 15 away goals scored coming in the second half (66%).