The Bundesliga season comes to an end this weekend as Bayern Munich prepare to celebrate another title following their meeting with Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern have struggled to hit top form since they were confirmed as champions, and the home side will be keen to finish the campaign strongly in front of their supporters.
Bayern Munich
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After clinching a third successive Bundesliga title a few weeks back, the sense of optimism at Bayern Munich was clear as they went in search of a treble.
However, their hopes were quickly dashed as they suffered disappointment on penalties in the DFB-Pokal semi-final against Borussia Dortmund before becoming victims of Barcelona's brilliance in the last four of the Champions League.
The celebrations were cut short by their failure to enjoy success in those two competitions, and despite dominating in the league this season, Pep Guardiola has been unable to avoid criticism in recent weeks.
Much of the speculation has suggested that Guardiola is a target for Manchester City, but with one year currently remaining on his deal, the Spaniard is likely to stay at the club for at least another year and Bayern have already expressed an interest in extending his deal.
There were more unwanted headlines for the club this week when Jerome Boateng and Robert Lewandowski clashed in training, but good news arrived when Arjen Robben hinted that he would be interested in signing a new deal.
Robben is one of a number of players who remain on the sidelines with an injury, and the loss of key men has been crucial to their slump in recent weeks, with Bayern losing five of their last six matches in all competitions.
With nothing resting on their performance at the weekend, another below-par performance could be a possibility, but Guardiola will be desperate to finish the campaign as strongly as possible before the champagne bottles are popped at the Allianz Arena.
Recent form: WWWLLL
Recent form (all competitions): LLLLWL
Mainz 05
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Mainz head into the final weekend of the season battling to secure a top-half finish which didn't always look a strong possibility in the second half of the campaign.
In truth, the Mainz fans are probably thankful that the team did not get dragged into a relegation battle which included eight teams until a few weeks ago, but with a seventh-place finish still a possibility the visitors will visit the champions with confidence.
Martin Schmidt's side need to win and hope other results go their way to climb up to seventh spot, but a top-half finish appears to be a more realistic possibility as they aim to move up from 10th spot.
Defeats to relegation-threatened Hamburger SV and Stuttgart destroyed any hopes of Europa League qualification before Mainz returned to form with a 2-0 victory over FC Koln last week.
If Mainz are to improve next season and become a side with realistic hopes of challenging for a place in Europe, Schmidt will be fully aware that his team need to be more consistent and with just two wins coming from their last 14 away games, it is clear where the problem lies for this current squad.
Much of the summer could be spent fighting to keep the likes of Johannes Geis and Shinji Okazaki, but Mainz will be hopeful that the duo can shine against Bayern, whether it is their final game or not.
Recent form: LWWLLW
Team News
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David Alaba recently returned to training following his injury problems, and he was initially hoping to be back for a Champions League final appearance, but it remains unclear whether Guardiola will use the Austrian in the Bundesliga finale.
Both he and Frank Ribery are likely to wait until next season for their respective returns to competitive action after being unable to make an impact in the run-in.
Thiago Alcantara, Philipp Lahm and Thomas Muller all started on the bench in last week's loss to Freiburg, but the trio could be handed recalls on Saturday.
Jairo Samperio is pushing for a start after scoring against FC Koln last weekend, with Pablo de Blasis a possible candidate to drop to the bench as the visitors are likely to stick with a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Bayern possible starting lineup:
Neuer, Rafinha, Boateng, Benatia, Bernat, Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Thiago, Muller, Gotze, Lewandowski
Mainz possible starting lineup:
Karius, Noveski, Bengtsson, Bungert, Park, Baumgartlinger, Koo, Malli, Samperio, Geis, Okazaki
Head To Head
Robben scored a 90th-minute winner to earn Bayern a 2-1 victory when these two sides met in the reverse fixture back in December, and it was a familiar feeling of disappointment for Mainz.
Bayern have won their last five games against Mainz, scoring 14 goals in the process, and have lost just once in the last eight meetings.
Sami Allagui and Adam Szalai were on the scoresheet in Mainz's last victory away to Bayern back in September 2010.
We say: Bayern 3-0 Mainz
Bayern have allowed their standards to slip since clinching the title, and although Saturday will be remembered for the celebrations, Guardiola will be keen to see his side finish the campaign impressively. Mainz could be the victims of a backlash as Bayern look to celebrate in style.
Callum Mulvihill
