League leaders Bayern Munich await an enticing matchup when they meet fellow unbeaten side TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday at the Allianz Arena. The Bavarian champions are dominating the league having picked up 23 points, two points ahead of their closest pursuers RB Leipzig. Even though Bayern’s performance on the field has been topsy-turvy this season, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have still managed to sneak out all three points.
The men from Bavaria had to come back from a goal down to earn a victory thanks to a brace from Robert Lewandowski in their clash against PSV. The recent form of the Polish International could be a major factor as the former Dortmund man has also netted a brace against Augsburg last weekend in their 3:1 victory.
While Lewandowski is finally overcoming his goal drought, there’s no doubt that Thomas Muller will also be eager to end his scoring slump this season. The 27-year old world champion is yet to score in the Bundesliga this season, after scoring 20 goals last campaign. A foremost reasoning has been his lack of game time in the league this season, Muller has played only 486 minutes of Bundesliga football thus far, only 54% of the full 900 mins.
Bayern’s recent defensive fragility could also be a worry for manager Carlo Ancelotti. Manuel Neuer has kept the most number of clean sheets in the league with five so far but failed to keep a clean sheet in six of his previous seven outings in all competitions. So there’s always a chance for Hoffenheim to break Bayern’s run and to defy the odds.
Hoffenheim themselves are enjoying a great start to the season. The appointment of then 27-year old Julian Nagelsmann at the second half of last season raised quite a few eyebrow but the young coach has helped take TSG’s performance to a whole new level. After a summer of changes, Nagelsmann made a few smart acquisitions, who have helped the 28-year old reach his goal.
One of those signings has been Andrej Kramaric. Having arrived permanently from Premier League champions Leicester, after a loan spell of half a season, Kramaric has been a revelation since. Already finding the net three times but most importantly, he has contributed with five assists too. An important aspect of Kramaric’s play is his ability to not just score but to dictate the play and create chances for his team. His presence up front along with Sandro Wagner, gives Nagelsmann a broader dimension in the attack, and that’s quite evident, with TSG already scoring 17 goals.
Team News
Both sides come into this game with no real injury worries. Hoffenheim will miss Austrian midfielder Pirmin Schwegler and Mark Uth due to injury while fullback Pavel Kaderabek will miss the game due to indirect card suspension.
As for Bayern, they will miss the services of Spanish centre-back Javi Martinez due to a hamstring problem but Franck Ribery is set to get back in contention after recovering from his injury.
Predicted Lineups
FC Bayern: (4-3-3 formation) Manuel Neuer; Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, David Alaba; Xabi Alonso, Arturo Vidal, Thiago Alcantara; Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski, Douglas Costa
Hoffenheim: (3-1-4-2 formation) Oliver Baumann; Niklas Süle, Kevin Vogt, Benjamin Hubner; Sebastian Rudy; Jeremy Toljan, Kerem Demirbay; Lukas Rupp; Steven Zuber; Andrej Kramaric, Sandro Wagner.
