Matchday 22 in the Bundesliga will come to an end on Sunday evening when a stuttering Bayern Munich travel to Vonovia Ruhrstadion to take on VfL Bochum.
The hosts are currently in 14th place in the league standings after 21 matches, while the visitors have slipped five points off the league leaders Bayer Leverkusen and are looking to avoid a third consecutive defeat.
Match preview
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Bayern Munich, a club accustomed to domestic success, are facing a serious threat as their 11-year streak of winning the Bundesliga title is now in serious jeopardy, with Bayer Leverkusen looking unstoppable this term.
After being soundly beaten by RB Leipzig in the DFL Supercup and suffering an embarrassing DFB-Pokal elimination at the hands of third-tier Saarbrucken, the Bavarians are now facing the genuine possibility of not winning any trophies in a single season for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.
Arguably, the biggest prize of all, the Champions League, is now likely the main priority for Bayern, but their hopes of progressing in the continental competition took a major blow in midweek when they were beaten 1-0 by Lazio in the first leg of their round of 16 tie.
The shock defeat in Rome came just four days after a humbling 3-0 defeat against Die Werkself, which has left Bayern trailing the unbeaten Bundesliga leaders by five points and marked the first time they have lost back-to-back matches since 2019.
Thomas Tuchel, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann to deliver trophies, is now undoubtedly under huge pressure to deliver this weekend, especially with the likes of Jose Mourinho, among others, waiting in the wings.
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However, this is one of the best fixtures that Tuchel could have asked for to try and lift the spirits in the camp, against a side that the Bavarians beat 7-0 for a second year in succession when they met in the first half of the season back in September.
Thomas Letsch, though, will see this as the perfect time to face the reigning league champions and will likely have a genuine belief that his side can take something from this match with Bayern's confidence dwindling.
While his side have not set the league alight by any means this season, they have been very difficult to beat and are currently the side with the most drawn matches (10) in the top flight in 2023-24.
In addition, Die Unabsteigbaren have suffered only one defeat at Vonovia Ruhrstadion in 13 matches this season and are currently unbeaten in their last seven home games, including three wins and four draws.
Still, amid the positive signs, there is no denying that Bochum face a massive uphill battle here against an opponent that has smashed 17 goals past them without response in the last their last three encounters alone.
Team News
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Bochum will have to make do without the services of midfielder Matus Bero, who will serve a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the campaign against Frankfurt last week.
Mohammed Tolba has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury, and goalkeeper Michael Esser is still a few weeks from returning to fitness following an injury to his knee.
Tuchel has come under the spotlight for his team selection as well in recent weeks, and it will be interesting to see if he sticks or twists in this match, particularly after Dayot Upamecano was sent off in midweek and Min-jae Kim received criticism for looking worn out.
Should the Bayern boss opt to shake things up in defence, it could open the door for Matthijs de Ligt to return to the starting lineup, while Tottenham Hotspur loanee Eric Dier also remains an option.
The Bavarians also have a lengthy casualty list, with the likes of Alphonso Davies, Kingsley Coman, Konrad Laimer, Noel Aseko and Serge Gnabry all sidelined for the foreseeable future.
VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Riemann; Oermann, Masovic, Ordets, Bernardo; Osterhage, Stoger, Losilla; Antwi-Adjej, Broschinski, Hofmann
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Sane, Muller, Musiala; Kane
We say: VfL Bochum 1-3 Bayern Munich
There is no margin for error for Bayern Munich and Thomas Tuchel this weekend. While confidence around the camp is likely at the lowest point that it has been for many years, the Bavarians have far too much firepower to write off just yet, and we feel they will bounce back with a solid victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
