DID YOU KNOW?
* Bayern Munich are on the verge of scoring their 3,000th point in the Bundesliga, standing currently on 2,999. They have scored the most points of any team in the competition's 48-year history despite not being ever-present in the top flight.
* To put in perspective just how difficult it has been lately for Bayern by their own high standards, the last time they lost four competitive games in succession was in the 1991-92 season.
* Three of Bayern's current squad used to play for Hamburg, although of the trio only Daniel van Buyten will start tomorrow. Ivica Olic is a long-term injury casualty and Hans-Joerg Butt is second choice in goal to Thomas Kraft.
* Both teams will be waving goodbye to their respective head coaches in the summer with Louis van Gaal being let go at the end of the season and Armin Veh also departing the Imtech Arena, having finally made a concrete decision on his future.
* Club captain Philipp Lahm will start his 100th competitive fixture in a row for Bayern and has not missed a single minute of action either this or last season. He joins 11 others as an ever-present this term, including his opposing captain tomorrow Heiko Westermann.
* Hamburg have a poor record historically against Bayern in Munich, having won just five times there in Bundesliga history - in 1975, 1978, 1982, 2006 and 2007. However, they are the only team who have won twice in the Allianz Arena.
* Die Rothosen boast five players in their squad who once plied their trade with der Rekordmeister, namely Ze Roberto, Marcell Jansen, David Jarolim, Piotr Trochowski and Jose Paolo Guerrero.
* This has been a tight encounter in recent years. No side has won by a two-goal margin since Hamburg won 2-0 at home to Bayern in September 2005, eight months after Bayern won 3-0 in Munich.
* Goals have not been in plentiful supply between these two giants of German football - the last four competitive games have brought at most one goal in total. Even in the pre-season Liga-Total Cup, Hamburg triumphed 1-0 against Bayern's reserves.
* Hamburg coach Armin Veh has lost all six away games he has taken charge of in Munich with a goal difference of -11 (five goals scored, 16 conceded).
LAST MEETING
October 22, 2010: Hamburg 0-0 Bayern Munich
Both sides came away from this with a point after failing to trouble the scorers. It was an even encounter in which both Hamburg and Bayern had chances, with Louis van Gaal remarking afterwards that he felt his side should have won.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Bayern Munich: Kraft; Lahm, Van Buyten, Luiz Gustavo, Pranjic; Kroos, Schweinsteiger; Robben, Mueller, Ribery; Gomez
Hamburg: Rost; Demel, Kacar, Westermann, Aogo; Ben-Hatira, Jarolim, Ze Roberto, Son; Petric, Guerrero
Prediction
Bayern will have one eye on next week's crunch Champions League clash with Inter but they cannot afford to take their eye of the ball in the quest for third spot. Hamburg are a team who usually do better against the bigger sides and who are not intimidated by the ferocious atmosphere in the Allianz Arena. I think these sides will cancel each other out in another reasonably low scoring fixture.
Bayern Munich 1-1 Hamburg 
