Perennial Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich continue their pursuit of top spot when they play host to mid-table outfit Borussia Monchengladbach at the Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams meet for the first time since September last year when the Bavarian giants claimed a comeback 2-1 victory at Borussia-Park courtesy of second-half goals from Leroy Sane and Mathys Tel.
Match preview
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Monchengladbach did Bayern a favour by playing out a goalless draw with Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, just a few hours after Thomas Tuchel's side boosted their hopes of retaining the title with a 3-2 away victory over Augsburg.
Aleksandar Pavlovic scored his first senior goal for Bayern before Alphonso Davies and Harry Kane got their names on the scoresheet to ensure that the reigning champions collected three crucial points against their fellow Bavarian counterparts.
It was by no means plain sailing for Bayern, though, as Augsburg's Ermedin Demirovic netted a second-half brace either side of Sven Michel missing a late penalty, but Tuchel's men eventually held on and have moved to within two points of Leverkusen at the summit.
Before travelling to the BayArena for a title showdown with Leverkusen on February 10, Bayern must shift their focus to their 112th Bundesliga meeting with Monchengladbach – the second-most played fixture after Bayern versus Werder Bremen (114) in the division's history.
Bayern, who are seven points better off than at this stage of their title-winning campaign in 2022-23, have had limited success against Monchengladbach in recent years, with the aforementioned 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture their only triumph in their last six meetings; they have failed to win their last two on home soil during this run and have never gone three consecutive home matches in the top flight without a win over the Foals.
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While Monchengladbach boss Gerardo Seoane can take plenty of positives from his side's resilient performance in the goalless draw with Leverkusen last time out, their inconsistent form is preventing the club from escaping their mid-table mediocrity.
Indeed, the Foals have accumulated just 21 points from their opening 19 Bundesliga matches this season, their worst points return in 13 years, and they are yet to win back-to-back league games under Seoane who was appointed in July last year.
Sitting 12th in the table, Monchengladbach are in no immediate danger of facing the drop as a nine-point gap separates them from FC Koln in 16th place, but they certainly have some work to do if they wish to keep their slim hopes of securing European football alive as they sit 10 points adrift of Eintracht Frankfurt in sixth.
Monchengladbach are one of the favourites to win this season's DFB-Pokal and they are sure to have one eye on next week's quarter-final tie with cup upset kings Saarbrucken of the third tier – who have already beaten Bayern and Frankfurt this term – but they must first prioritise Saturday's top-flight trip to the Allianz Arena, where they have admirably picked up four points from their last two visits.
No Bundesliga team have beaten Bayern on more occasions that Monchengladbach (28), who could propel themselves into ninth place in the top-flight standings with a victory this weekend. However, success on the road has been hard to come by for the Foals this term, as they have only won one of their nine away league fixtures – a 3-1 victory at VfL Bochum in September last year.
Team News
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Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman was carried off with a knee injury against Augsburg and is the latest name to join a packed treatment room including Joshua Kimmich (shoulder), Serge Gnabry (thigh), Konrad Laimer (calf), Dayot Upamecano (hamstring), Daniel Peretz (knee), Tarek Buchmann (thigh) and Bouna Sarr (ACL).
Kim Min-jae is still away with South Korea at the Asian Cup, but Noussair Mazraoui is available to return following Morocco's elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations, although he faces competition from January signing Sacha Boey for a start at right-back.
Pavlovic will hope to keep his place in midfield in the absence of Kimmich, but Raphael Guerreiro, who played at right-back against Augsburg, could move into the engine room to partner Leon Goretzka, while the absence of Coman will likely see Thomas Muller recalled in attack.
As for Monchengladbach, Tomas Cvancara (ankle), Jonas Omlin and Lukas Ullrich (both shoulder) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Ko Itakura is still away with Japan at the Asian Cup.
Patrick Herrmann is doubtful after missing the draw with Leverkusen with a knee problem, but Maximilian Wober – who missed the same match through illness – is expected to return and will likely join Joe Scally and Nico Elvedi at centre-back.
Rocco Reitz recovered from a muscle issue to feature as a substitute last time out, and the midfielder will be hoping to force his way back into the starting lineup alongside Julian Weigl and Manu Kone.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Boey, Dier, De Ligt, Davies; Goretzka, Guerreiro; Musiala, Muller, Sane; Kane
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Nicolas; Scally, Elvedi, Wober; Honorat, Reitz, Weigl, Kone, Netz; Siebatcheu, Plea
We say: Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
Aside from their surprise defeat at home to Werder Bremen earlier this month, Bayern Munich have been almost perfect at the Allianz Arena this season and they will be regarded as favourites to come out on top in front of their own supporters this weekend.
Borussia Monchengladbach are no pushovers, though, and have enjoyed recent success against the Bavarians, but Tuchel's title hopefuls should ultimately find a way to get the job done, even though they are missing a few key players through injury.
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