Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen

Reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich entertain bottom-half strugglers Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern Munich got 2024 off to a flying start, claiming a scintillating 3-0 home win against TSG Hoffenheim to stay within a four-point distance of Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen. With a game in hand, the ‘Bavarians’ are still favorites to extend their decade-long dominance of Germany’s top flight. Despite lacking regular center-back pairing Matthijs De Ligt and Dayot Upamecano due to injuries, Thomas Tuchel’s men will be out to protect a near-perfect home league record in 2023/24 (W7, D1). By extension, the perennial Bundesliga champions have only lost once in their last 32 home league outings (W23, D8), not to mention finding the net in 65 consecutive such fixtures. Winning 26 of their last 27 H2Hs against Werder Bremen can only inspire more confidence around Tuchel’s camp.

In the meantime, Werder Bremen’s resilience has come to the fore in recent weeks, with Ole Werner’s side overcoming a deficit to secure draws in their last three Bundesliga matches. But the visitors are in a precarious position, boasting a minor six-point lead on 16th-placed Mainz thanks to a measly four wins across the opening 17 top-flight rounds (D5, L8). Since none of those four victories came away from home, an unlikely triumph at the Allianz Stadium would be Werder’s first on nine Bundesliga travels this season (D3, L5). As the division’s worst traveling side, Werder can’t realistically hope to avenge a 4-0 thumping in the reverse fixture on the opening weekend. That’s not to mention they slumped to a 6-1 defeat in this corresponding duel last term.