Werder Bremen v Bayern Munich: Neuer aims to extend record start

Manuel Neuer is determined to bag the full three points when Bayern Munich take on Werder Bremen on Saturday as the Bavarians look to extend their record start.

Pep Guardiola’s men have been in sublime form in the opening months of the 2015-16 campaign and headed into the international break with a 100 per cent record after eight games.

Their fine run of form is a new Bundesliga record after eight matches of a season, beating their previous best of 2012-13.

Bayern will be looking to make it nine wins from as many games as the Bundesliga returns this weekend and Neuer is hopeful they can build on the fine results they have recorded at Werder in the past.

“We’re glad to be back,” Neuer told the official Bayern website. “We want to carry on where we left off before the international break.

“We’ve had some great results at Werder over the years.

“We want to beat Werder and extend our record start.”

However, Bayern are still without a number of first-team regulars as Medhi Benatia, Holger Badstuber, Franck Ribery and Mario Gotze are all unavailable.

Kingsley Coman is doubtful after picking up a minor knock while away on international duty with France Under-21, while Arjen Robben seems ready to make his return after a spell on the sidelines due to injury.

Man to watch Robert Lewandowski has scored nine goals in three consecutive Bundesliga games, setting a new record. The Poland international has 12 goals to his name after eight matchdays, equalling the league record for this stage of a season.

Werder, meanwhile, have little reason for optimism ahead of Saturday’s encounter.

Bremen have lost their last nine league games against Bayern, scoring just six goals and conceding 39 in the process, their longest run of consecutive defeats against a Bundesliga club.

The last time Werder beat Bayern in a competitive game was over seven years ago in September 2008. Since then there have been 15 meetings between the two sides, with Bayern emerging victorious on 12 occasions and three matches ending in a draw.

Additionally, Werder have lost four consecutive Bundesliga games for the first time under Viktor Skripnik, suffering their longest winless run in over three years.

Their recent struggles have seen Bremen drop to 14th place in the Bundesliga table with seven points from eight games.