The Japan Times - Bayern and Kane gambling with house money as Gladbach come to town

Bayern's win over Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion last Saturday took them 11 points clear with 10 games to play.

But unfortunately for struggling Borussia Moenchengladbach, who visit Munich's Allianz Arena on Friday, Bayern and Kane do not look likely to take their foot off the pedal.

Bayern are just 14 goals away from breaking the single-season record of 101 goals set in 1971-72.

With 30 goals in 24 league games this campaign, Kane is 11 shy of Lewandowski's record from the 2020-21 season.

"I'm certainly in a good position at the moment," Kane told German tabloid Bild on Wednesday. "It will be difficult to beat him. I think the chances are pretty even at the moment."

Asked if he would gamble on his own chances to beat the record come May, Kane smiled and said "I'd prefer other people bet on me."

Typically methodical, Kane said he breaks the season down into short blocks of games and sets specific targets.

"I don't really look at the records themselves and say 'I want to break this now'. What I do is break the games into stages... not by looking simply at Lewandowski's record.

"I don't look at that, but what think I should achieve. I always try to set goals for every five or six games."

At his current rate, Kane will reach the record easily but coach Vincent Kompany may be tempted to rest the star striker with Champions League and German Cup games on the horizon.

Former Bayern and Germany striker Jurgen Klinsmann backed Kane for the record, telling AFP and other media on Wednesday: "What Harry has been doing since he joined Bayern Munich is just an incredible story.

Klinsmann said Kompany "would never" stand in Kane's way.

"Keep him on the bench and not let him get the record? I'm sure that won't happen."

One to watch: Deniz Undav

Cruising along behind Harry Kane in the goalscoring charts, Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav is putting together an excellent season.

Undav, 29, has 14 goals in 20 league matches, averaging a goal at a career-best rate of every 106 minutes.

Unlike Kane, the Germany international does not take penalties for Stuttgart. Fourteen of Kane's 30 league goals have come from the spot this season -- meaning Undav has just two fewer strikes from open play than the England captain.

Despite his form, the former Brighton forward told Bild that "it gets on his nerves" that people still do not rate him as a main target man.

"I have the best scoring record, so I don't understand why people talk about other strikers and not me. That my name is always only mentioned as a false nine.

"I've heard it my whole life. I thought that now, after scoring so well, it would stop.

"I'm simply a good, classic striker who can also play as a good number 10. But it's not my fault that I have the quality. I'm a striker, I score, and I can create chances."

Key stats

6 - From 2014 to 2023, Gladbach lost just six of 19 games against Bayern.

5-0 - That run included a stunning 5-0 German Cup thumping, Bayern's biggest defeat since the 1970s.

5 - Since then however, Bayern have won five in a row against them -- their best run versus the Foals since the mid-1960s.

Fixtures (1430 GMT unless stated)

Friday

Bayern Munich v Borussia Moenchengladbach (1930)

Saturday

RB Leipzig v Augsburg, Mainz v Stuttgart, Heidenheim v Hoffenheim, Wolfsburg v Hamburg, Freiburg v Bayer Leverkusen, Cologne v Borussia Dortmund (1730)

Sunday

St Pauli v Eintracht Frankfurt, Union Berlin v Werder Bremen (1630)

M.Yamazaki--JT