Kane & Kimmich chasing records: Facts ahead of Friday's game vs. Werder

Floodlights, Friday evening, a classic match: When FC Bayern take on SV Werder Bremen in their own stadium to kick-off Matchday 5 (20.30 CEST), Bundesliga history will once again be being enacted. It'll be the 117th Bundesliga encounter between the two traditional clubs - no other clash has been played so often in the league's long history. fcbayern.com has put together all the key facts relating to the home game for you

Bayern brimming with confidence

The situation going into the clash clearly favours the record champions and current league leaders: Although FCB have lost only to Borussia Mönchengladbach more times in their Bundesliga history (28) than to Bremen (27), their more recent record tells a different story. They've lost just one of their last 31 encounters in the German top flight with Werder - a 1-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena in January 2024.

Coach Vincent Kompany's side have also been in impressive early form: FC Bayern have won their first seven competitive matches of a season for the first time in seven years. They've never won more than seven in a row under Kompany. If they pick up another three points against Bremen, it will be the longest winning streak since under Carlo Ancelotti in the 2016/17 season.

The difference between the two teams

Particularly impressive is that the men from Munich scored 18 goals on the first four matchdays - a Bundesliga record no team had ever achieved before. While Bayern have been rampant and scoring for fun, the Werder defence has been rather shaky: only Union Berlin (11) have conceded more goals than the Green and Whites (10).

Another contrast: with an average age of 28 years and 335 days, Bayern have deployed the oldest starting XI of the season so far, while Bremen have the second-youngest team (25 years, 46 days) after Eintracht Frankfurt.

Kane can break Cristiano Ronaldo and Haaland's records

Of course, some players currently stand out from the German champions' strong line-up. Firstly, there's striker Harry Kane. The England captain has already been directly involved in 11 goals (eight goals, three assists) on the first four Bundesliga matchdays - the best tally since detailed data collection began in 2004/05. Only Serhou Guirassy (2023/24, also eight) and Peter Meyer (1967/68, nine) had managed at least eight goals after four games prior to him.

A milestone beckons: with 98 goals in 103 competitive appearances for the record champions, Kane could break the 100-goal mark in his 104th game against Bremen. If he succeeds, he would be the fastest player in Europe's top five leagues to reach this mark for a club in the 21st century - faster than Cristiano Ronaldo (in 105 appearances for Real Madrid) and Erling Haaland (in 105 appearances for Manchester City).

Kane's record-breaking run has also been helped by having nerves of steel from the spot: he was the first player in Bundesliga history to convert all of his first 17 penalties. While that's a feat that has actually previously been achieved by the two former Bayern players, Jörg Butt (1999 to 2001) and Robert Lewandowski (2013 to 2018), they didn't do it with their first penalties.

Gnabry on fire, Kimmich’s milestone

Serge Gnabry heads into the home game against the North Germans with a lot of momentum: He's been involved in at least one goal in each of the last five Bundesliga games (four goals, two assists) - a feat he last achieved in a Bayern jersey in the spring of 2023. Against his former side Werder, of all clubs, he's already been directly involved in ten goals; only against newly-promoted FC Köln has he been involved in more (12).

FC Bayern's central midfielders are also about to make history: both Leon Goretzka (116 games for Schalke) and Joshua Kimmich are set to make their 300th Bundesliga appearance against Bremen. If FCB win, Kimmich will even break a record - with 217 victories, he would become the most successful player in league history after 300 appearances. The previous record was set by club legend Thomas Müller with 216 wins.

Bremen’s rollercoaster start

However, their opponents will not be travelling to Munich without confidence either. Werder recently celebrated their highest Bundesliga away win in five years with a 4-0 victory in Mönchengladbach. The Green and Whites have actually lost just one of their last seven away games (5 wins, 1 draw, 1 defeat). Since the start of last season, only FC Bayern have racked up more Bundesliga away wins (13) than Bremen (10). However, coach Horst Steffen's team recently suffered a setback: A 3-0 defeat at home to SC Freiburg.

Get the full lowdown on Bremen: