Hannover 96 vs Bayern Munich Predictions

Hannover head into this with just one win in their last seven Bundesliga matches (W1 D2 L4), not an ideal situation to be in ahead of hosting reigning champions Bayern Munich. Last weekend’s 1-1 draw away to Mainz 05 was a reasonable result on paper, but it did little to help them move out of the relegation zone – mathematically they are just one win off 13th placed Schalke 04. A number of injuries to first-team players continues to do coach Andre Breitenreiter no favours, but the return of star forward Niclas Fullkrug a few weeks back has given Hannover a boost – he was the third highest scoring player in the Bundesliga last season (14 goals).

Bayern Munich look back to their best, in the Bundesliga at least, after a rather rocky November. A convincing win at home to Nurnberg last weekend (3-0) saw Robert Lewandowski score twice, putting him right back in the Bundesliga ‘Golden Boot’ race, and also helped make it three wins on the bounce in all competitions for the reigning champions. Memories of that 3-2 Der Klassiker defeat to league leaders Borussia Dortmund are well behind them now and with Wednesday’s 3-3 draw away to Ajax wrapping up the Champions League action until February, and confirming them as group winners, coach Kovac now looks ahead to secure the best league finish possible before the winter break.

So what do we think for this match? Well, while there is no better feeling in German football than getting one over on Bayern Munich, unfortunately for Hannover, their chances look very slim on Saturday. Bayern are only on a longer winning streak against Bremen (16) than them (12) and the Bavarians have actually been better on the road than at home this season – Bayern are the second best travelling side in the league (W5 L2). Hannover, as with most German sides, have a poor record at home to the reigning champs, and that’s a record that will prove exceptionally difficult to make amends on given they themselves have been poor at home this season – Hannover hold the fourth-worst home record in the Bundesliga (W2 D1 L3). Coach Andre Breitenreiter couldn’t ask for a tougher match to try and get his team back on track.

Now it would be easy to go on about how much better Bayern were than the hosts, but what makes this particularly tough for Hannover is that the Bavarians look to have refound their scoring form. Bayern have scored three goals or more in four of their last five competitive outings (W3 D2) and Hannover’s defence is the third worst in the league. Hannover’s only saving grace could be that Bayern’s defence isn’t what it used to be, particularly with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer holding one of the worst save percentages in the league. Going off that, we can’t help but expect plenty of goals on Saturday, and it wouldn’t be too much of a shock to see the hosts get one either – both teams have scored in each of Bayern Munich’s last five competitive away games after all. Our prediction: 3-1 Bayern Munich.