FC Bayern München hosts 1. FC Köln on 16 May 2026 at 15:30 in the Allianz Arena, and Leon Goretzka will start what is billed as his last game for Bayern at his home stadium.
Vincent Kompany sits on the Bayern bench as his team arrives on 86 points after 33 matches, having scored 117 goals this season — the highest offensive output in Bundesliga history — and already recorded 32 goals from set pieces. Michael Olise has been central to that attack, listed with 34 scorer points, 15 goals and 19 assists. Lennart Karl is back in the starting eleven, while Minjae Kim is absent from the squad because of slight knee problems.
The numbers underline why this game matters beyond the final whistle. Bayern play the last round with the chance to extend the season’s scoring and goal-difference records, and they are three goals short of matching their own Allianz Arena home scoring mark from 1971/72. If they avoid more than one defeat this campaign, they would match seasons in 2012/13 and 1986/87 that also finished with only a single loss.
Köln arrive with problems of their own. René Wagner’s side sit 14th with 32 points and have won just one of their last 13 Bundesliga matches. They have managed only two away wins this season and carry the longest away winless run in the league at 12 matches. Cologne have also gone 21 matches without a league victory overall and have found it particularly hard against top teams: they are 20 games without a win when facing the table leaders. Wagner summed up his brief message in one word — "Effzeh" — as his team prepares for the trip.
Formlines would suggest Bayern will dominate, and history supports that view: since a 2-3 defeat in February 2011, Bayern have not lost in 22 competitive matches against Köln. Yet the match contains a clear point of friction. Both sides concede an unusual number of goals from set plays; Köln have conceded a league-high 25 goals from set pieces, and Bayern’s own 32 goals from standards reveal matches decided on dead-ball situations. That shared weakness leaves room for an upset or at least a closer scoreline than Bayern's attacking figures alone suggest.
There is another subplot off the pitch. Referee Deniz Aytekin will oversee his last Bundesliga match here — his 254th appearance in the competition. The game is not available on free-to-air television; viewers can follow live coverage on Sky, via TV and streaming, or track a conference on DAZN. SPORT1 will run a live ticker for those following minute-by-minute updates.
Bayern head into this fixture having produced their third-best Bundesliga season ever. Their aim in this final match is straightforward: push the season totals higher, add to the 117 goals already scored, and improve the goal difference. For Köln, the objective is equally clear but different in scale: end the long winless runs and leave Munich with a result that eases the relegation fight.
Given the gulf in form, Bayern are likely to add to their record-breaking totals, but the shared vulnerability on set pieces and the absence of Kim mean Cologne cannot be dismissed as mere fodder. This match will probably confirm Bayern’s dominance this season, yet it also offers the clearest route for Köln to snatch something they have so rarely taken: goals from dead-ball situations against a high-scoring champion.
When the final whistle blows, the most consequential outcome will be whether Bayern tacked on enough to cement new records — and whether Cologne can use the one glaring fault all season to leave the Allianz Arena having shifted the narrative around their miserable away run; both answers will arrive by 17:30 on 16 May.
