BAVARIAN GIANT RETURNS TO THE SCENE OF LAST SEASON'S NIGHTMARE

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April 19, 2025

1.FC Heidenheim - FC Bayern

When Bayern Munich traveled to Heidenheim last season, nobody doubted the outcome. The Bavarian powerhouse quickly confirmed their role as favorites and led comfortably 2-0 at halftime. What followed wrote itself into Bundesliga history. The home underdogs engineered an improbable comeback and celebrated a sensational 3-2 victory after the final whistle.

"Some defeats simply hurt more than others," admits Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich ahead of Saturday's return to the Voith-Arena. "That match was a lesson in humility for us, one we still remember today. This time, we're much better prepared."

Bayern returns to Heidenheim again as clear favorites, but statistics suggest the home team could be a surprising bogeyman for the Bavarian side. In Bundesliga history, there is no team against which Bayern has conceded more goals on average (2.3 per game) than against the newcomers from Heidenheim.

The situation of both teams, however, is dramatically different. While Bayern comfortably leads the table with a record of 21 wins, 6 draws, and just 2 defeats from 29 matches, Heidenheim is desperately fighting for survival. With only 22 points, they sit in the relegation playoff 16th position, seven points away from outright safety. No team in Bundesliga history has overcome such a large deficit at this stage of the season.

"The statistics are against us, that's clear," says Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt, the longest-serving manager in professional German football. "But we know we can beat Bayern. We did it last year, and our motivation is even greater now. We're fighting for survival."

Home advantage has been more of a burden than a benefit for Heidenheim this season. With just 10 points from home matches, they have the worst record in the entire league. Of their first 14 fixtures on their own ground, they have lost ten. Only Hannover in the 2015/16 season and Tasmania Berlin in 1965/66 had a worse record after 14 home games.

Bayern, on the contrary, excels on the road. With 31 points from away matches, they have already exceeded their entire away haul from last season (29). "Our approach is the same everywhere," explains the Bavarian side's coach. "We want to dominate, keep possession, and dictate the tempo of the game. It doesn't matter if we're playing at the Allianz Arena or anywhere else."

Interestingly, Bayern has been waiting for a clean sheet for six consecutive matches, their longest such streak this season. Young goalkeeper Jonas Urbig has even become the first goalkeeper in club history who has failed to keep a clean sheet in any of his first five Bundesliga appearances for Bayern.

On the other side, Heidenheim has the worst attack in the second half of the season with just 9 goals scored. Bayern has netted 30 in the same period. The contrast is also evident in the number of touches in the opponent's penalty area – Bayern averages 39 per game (most in the league), while Heidenheim manages just 20 (second-fewest).

The two teams also differ dramatically in their ability to overturn unfavorable situations. While Bayern has collected 13 points from matches in which they were trailing (most in the competition), Heidenheim has managed just two (fewest). They are even the only team that has failed to turn any losing position into a victory this season. Ironically, the last time they achieved this was against Bayern a year ago.

Saturday's duel will be especially significant for Serge Gnabry. The German international scored his 13th Bundesliga goal as a substitute for Bayern in the last round. Only Alexander Zickler (18) and Franck Ribéry (15) have scored more goals from the bench. And it was at Heidenheim's stadium where Gnabry last recorded a multi-point performance in a single game, contributing a goal and an assist to last year's 3-2 defeat.

Thomas Müller's performance will also be closely watched. The Bayern legend recorded his 323rd goal contribution in the Bundesliga (150 goals, 173 assists) in the last match. Since his debut in 2008, only Robert Lewandowski has been more productive (367). Interestingly, against Heidenheim, Müller has failed to score or assist in all three previous meetings – the only opponent he has faced multiple times without a goal contribution.

Saturday's match offers a David versus Goliath clash in which statistics speak clearly in favor of the favorites. But as has been shown once before in Heidenheim, paper predictions don't always hold true in football.

We thank OPTA for providing the statistical data. Photo: source XYZ