A sluggish start to 2015 has frustrated some Bayern Munich supporters who are used to perfection from Pep Guardiola and his squad of world-class players.

The second half of the season started with a shock 4-1 defeat to Wolfsburg, and the Bundesliga champions followed their first league defeat of the campaign with a 1-1 draw against Schalke 04 on Tuesday evening.

Despite watching Benedikt Howedes cancel out Arjen Robben's opener at the Allianz Arena, Guardiola was quick to insists that he was "very satisfied" with his side, who were forced to play the majority of the match with 10 men following Jerome Boateng's early red card.

In other leagues, two matches without a win would deal a serious blow to a side's title aspirations, but Bayern's dominance in Germany means that they remain firm favourites with an eight-point lead at the top of the table.

However, Guardiola will be keen to see his team get back to their best as quickly as possible due to the tougher tests which await them later this month.

Shakhtar Donetsk stand in Bayern's way in the last 16 of the Champions League, and a run of impressive results in the league will certainly hand the Spaniard's squad a boost heading into that tie.

Stuttgart's focus remains on securing their Bundesliga place for another season, and Huub Stevens will take confidence from Wednesday's goalless draw against FC Koln.

Although a point was a decent outcome for Stuttgart, their inability to take a number of good chances means that it felt like an opportunity was missed.

However, the morale-boosting performance means that Stevens is likely to name an unchanged side when the champions arrive at the Mercedes Benz Arena.

Dante is set to replace the suspended Boateng for Bayern, while there could also be a recall for Robert Lewandowski as Guardiola considers changes in attack.

Stuttgart:

Recent form: LDWDLD

Possible starting lineup: Ulreich, Klein, Schwaab, Niedermeier, Baumgartl, Gentner, Hlousek, Sararer, Romeu, Leitner, Harnik

Bayern:

Form in Bundesliga: WWWWLD
Form in all competitions: WWWWLD

Possible starting lineup: Neuer, Bernat, Dante, Benatia, Alaba, Alonso, Schweinsteiger, Gotze, Robben, Muller, Lewandowski

Sports Mole says: 0-3

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