Bayern set to better 30-year-old league record

Bayern Munich's Mario Mandzukic (R) is congratulated by teammates Bayern Munich can claim their second milestone of the week on Saturday at home to Augsburg with the Bundesliga's 30-year-old record for the longest unbeaten run set to fall. The European champions can claim a new record of 37 matches if they win or draw at home to Bavarian neighbours Augsburg, who are 13th in the league, at Munich's Allianz Arena.
"You don't start playing football to break records but once the opportunity is there, you're obviously going to try and take it," said Bayern captain Philipp Lahm.
"We've put in a lot of hard work to get to this point and if you look at the history of the Bundesliga, going so many games without losing is something that just doesn't really happen."
Bayern matched Hamburg's record of 36 matches without defeat, set in January 1983, when they won 2-1 at Hoffenheim last Saturday.
But while Hamburg won 20 of their 36 games, Bayern have claimed 30 victories in the same number of matches scoring 95 goals to Hamburg's 88 and leaking just 21, compared to Hamburg's 38.
Augsburg won just one of their last five league games when they beat Mainz last weekend and it would take a shock result to spoil Bayern's party.
Should a new record be set, it will be as much down to ex-Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, who handed over a 25-match unbeaten run to his successor Pep Guardiola.
Bayern were last beaten in October 2012 at Bayer Leverkusen and Augsburg are not expected to put up much resistance.
Bayern's first landmark this week was when they equalled Barcelona's record from the 2002/03 season of nine consecutive Champions League wins when they beat Viktoria Pilsen 1-0 on Tuesday to confirm their place in the knock-out phase.
"It seems that it's a season when every record can be challenged or beaten," beamed Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who was an active player when Hamburg set the 30-year-old record.
"At the time, I congratulated (Hamburg full-back) Manni Kaltz and (centre forward) Horst Hrubesch on a record I thought would stand for eternity.
"Now we're level with it."
Guardiola can also set a new personal record of 12 games unbeaten, the best Bundesliga start by a coach at a new club.
Breaking records is nothing remarkable for Bayern these days, though, as they set or equalled 25 league records under Heynckes last season.
If Augsburg were looking for a fillip to encourage them, it wasn't coming in the news that Arjen Robben could feature for the champions on the right wing following a groin strain.
Guardiola's main decision will be over who to start up front.
He picked attacking midfielder Mario Goetze as a lone forward at Pilsen but substitute Mario Mandzukic, the Croatia striker, came on to score the winning goal.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund wil hope to bounce back from their Champions League mid-week home defeat to Arsenal with a trip to resurgent Wolfsburg.
Having won their last three games, Wolves are up to fifth in the table, but are without Brazilian play-maker Diego, who is suffering from a rib injury.
Fixtures
Saturday
Bayern Munich v Augsburg, Schalke 04 v Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen v Hamburg, VfL Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund, Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin, Borussia Moenchengladbach v Nuremberg
Sunday
Mainz 05 v Eintracht Frankfurt, Freiburg v VfB Stuttgart
Source: AFP