Seeking to close the four-point gap to the Bundesliga summit, reigning champions Bayern Munich travel to the WWK Arena to face Augsburg on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams meet for the first time since matchday two back in August last year when the Bavarian giants secured a 3-1 home victory.
Match preview
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Augsburg ended a four-game winless run in the Bundesliga when they came from behind to beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 away from home last weekend.
Die Fuggerstadter were trailing at the interval, but Jess Thorup's half-time team talk worked wonders as his side turned the game on its head with two goals in the first six minutes of the second half scored by Phillip Tietz and Arne Engels.
Augsburg – who have won a Bundesliga-high 15 points from losing positions so far this season – eventually held on for their fifth league win of the season and have climbed to 10th in the table, 10 points clear of the bottom three and seven points adrift of the top six heading into the second half of the campaign.
Thorup's men are in the middle of a challenging run of home fixtures, and while positives can be taken from their last two encounters at the WWK Arena – drawing 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund before suffering a gut-wrenching 1-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen courtesy of a 94th-minute goal – Augsburg must raise their levels once again versus Bayern on Saturday and then against RB Leipzig two weeks later.
Die Fuggerstadter have certainly done that in recent meetings with Bayern, as they have successfully registered points in three of their last four top-flight home matches against the Bavarians, winning their last two by an aggregate score of 3-1, so there is reason to be optimistic on Saturday.
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Three days after suffering a surprise 1-0 home defeat to Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich bounced back to claim a much-needed victory by the same scoreline in an ill-tempered affair against Union Berlin on Wednesday night.
Raphael Guerreiro scored the only goal of the game just 30 seconds into the second half after Harry Kane had hit the post, before Union Berlin manager Nenad Bjelica was shown a red card after shoving his hand into the face of Leroy Sane twice during a heated altercation on the touchline.
Tempers frayed at the Allianz Arena as the contest edged closer to conclusion, but Bayern got the job done to claim their 14th league victory of the season and move to within four points of unbeaten leaders Leverkusen, whom they will face at the BayArena in two weeks' time.
After Thomas Tuchel heavily criticised his players' standards in training following the loss to Bremen, rumours emerged that the Bayern boss was fighting to save his job as club chiefs were allegedly left unimpressed by his comments. However, it is understood that the Bavarians have no plans to part ways with the 50-year-old midway through the season.
Bayern now shift their focus to Saturday's encounter with Augsburg, a side whom they have beaten in each of their last three meetings in all competitions by an aggregate score of 13-6, including an entertaining 5-2 DFB-Pokal victory in their last visit to the WWK Arena in October 2022.
Team News
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Augsburg duo Raphael Framberger (knee) and Reece Oxford (illness) both remain in the treatment room, while Niklas Dorsch (groin) and Sven Michel (illness) are doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
After making his debut as a second-half substitute against Monchengladbach last time out, Eintracht Frankfurt loanee Kristijan Jakic will be pushing to start in midfield this weekend at the expense of Fredrik Jensen.
Ermedin Demirovic has contributed to 14 goals (eight goals and six assists) in 18 Bundesliga games so far this season, and the Bosnian attacker is expected to continue up front alongside Tietz, with Dion Drena Beljo – who scored in the reverse fixture against Bayern – offering support as a substitute.
As for Bayern Munich, they were dealt two injury blows against Union Berlin as Dayot Upamecano and Konrad Laimer were forced off with respective hamstring and calf injuries – both players are facing several weeks on the sidelines.
Serge Gnabry (hamstring), Daniel Peretz (knee), Tarek Buchmann (thigh) and Bouna Sarr (ACL) all remain out with injuries, while Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui and South Korea's Kim Min-jae are still away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup respectively.
Joshua Kimmich will likely start at right-back in the absence of Laimer, meaning that Guerreiro could move into midfield as Alphonso Davies returns at left-back, while Eric Dier is set to be handed his full debut at centre-back alongside Matthijs de Ligt in the absence of Upamecano.
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Dahmen; Mbabu, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Iago; Engels, Rexhbecaj, Jensen; Vargas; Demirovic, Tietz
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Kimmich, Dier, De Ligt, Davies; Goretzka, Guerreiro; Coman, Musiala, Sane; Kane
We say: Augsburg 1-2 Bayern Munich
Augsburg's recent home record against Bayern bodes well ahead of Saturday's contest, but their 21-game run without keeping a clean sheet is a cause for concern when coming up against a Bavarian outfit who have scored in each of their last 21 Bundesliga away games.
The hosts have the ability to frustrate Bayern, but Tuchel's men will likely dominate proceedings at the WWK Arena and should have few problems outscoring their opponents en route to another important victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
