Paderborn vs Bayern Munich 28/09/19

28 September 2019

Paderborn and Bayern Munich will face-off at the Benteler Arena in contrasting circumstances. While the visitors chase the Bundesliga (BL) top spot, the hosts are still going after their elusive first league triumph this term.

The way the hosts have started their second-ever BL season (D1, L4) suggests they might return to the second tier earlier than expected. The returnees’ leaky defense has been their main issue so far, as they already allowed 14 goals, conceding two or more per match on four occasions this term. Curiously, both of Paderborn’s home BL fixtures so far have seen them break the deadlock inside the opening 10 minutes before conceding three or more in the remainder of the match. If nothing else, the Benteler Arena has been a venue of entertainment for the past 11 months, with 12 of 15 Paderborn’s home games in that period producing over 3.5 total goals.

Meanwhile, unbeaten in the BL this campaign (W3, D2), the visitors are two points away from locking up the top spot and a trip to Paderborn seems like a perfect chance for them to post their second straight league triumph. Going into this fixture off the back of a 4-0 hammering of Koln, the Bavarians look to stretch their competitive winning run in H2Hs to five games. Notably, each of Bayern’s last four wins over Paderborn in all competitions has seen them score 4+ match goals and concede one or less. A similar scenario should not be excluded here, as the reigning holders already bagged 16 BL goals this season – more than any other side in the German top tier. What’s more, Niko Kovac’s men are yet to concede from an open play away from home, with the only away goal they allowed this term coming from a spot-kick.