Bayern Munich's quest to reclaim their Bundesliga crown continues on Saturday when they host strugglers VfL Bochum at Allianz Arena.
Bayern have 61 points and are eight ahead of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen following their 3-1 victory against Stuttgart on February 28, whereas Bochum lost 1-0 against Hoffenheim on March 1 and are third last in 16th place with 17 points.
Match preview
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The Bavarians played out a relatively even first half against Stuttgart – both sides created two big chances – but they prevented their opponents from registering a single shot on target in the second half while also producing another two big chances.
Bayern beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and though they restricted Die Schwarzroten to just three shots in the entire game, the victors were aided by Leverkusen making serious errors in the backline.
Vincent Kompany's side have scored three or more goals in 22 matches this season, and have found the back of the net nine times in their past three games.
The Bavarians are almost certain to win the title in 2024-25, and it is difficult to see them dropping many points in the next weeks considering their next four top-flight fixtures are against clubs in the bottom eight.
Kompany's team are in fine form, with the team winning eight and drawing two of their last 10 outings in all competitions, while they have also triumphed in nine of their last 10 in the league.
Bayern have won each of their past 10 Bundesliga clashes at Allianz Arena, keeping six clean sheets and scoring at least three goals in each of those games.
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Bochum come into the clash off the back of a damaging defeat against relegation rivals Hoffenheim, though they can have few complaints about the result considering they generated no big chances.
Head coach Dieter Hecking's side currently occupy the Bundesliga's relegation playoff spot and are four points from 15th-placed St Pauli, but with their next three league games coming against the division's top three, the gap is unlikely to shrink.
Hecking will hope to avoid a repeat of his team's performance against Bayern Munich in the reverse fixture on October 27 when the Bavarians won 5-0.
To their credit, the Blues have only been beaten in one of their last four games – drawing two and winning one – but they have only achieved victory once in their past seven.
Bochum's record on the road is alarming considering they have lost 10, drawn two and triumphed in one of their 13 away fixtures in 2024-25.
Team News
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Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was forced off the pitch against Bayer Leverkusen as a result of a calf injury, and he is likely to miss a significant portion of what remains of the season.
Jonas Urbig was brought on in place of Neuer, and he is likely to come into the starting XI behind centre-backs Eric Dier and Hiroki Ito.
Kompany may want to rest several starters ahead of his side's second leg against Leverkusen next week, so perhaps Thomas Muller and Serge Gnabry could feature in attack, with Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala dropping out of the team.
Bochum's injury list is not extensive, but they will have to contend with the absence of attackers Gerrit Holtmann and Myron Boadu, absences that may lead Hecking to start Giorgos Masouras and Philipp Hofmann up front.
Centre-back Ivan Ordets will not return to the pitch until late March, so expect Tim Oermann, Jakov Medic and Bernardo to appear in a back three.
In midfield, Matus Bero, Ibrahima Sissoko and Tom Krauss are probable candidates to stationed in the middle of the pitch.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Urbig; Stanisic, Dier, Ito, Guerreiro; Goretzka, Kimmich; Gnabry, Muller, Coman; Kane
VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Horn; Oermann, Medic, Bernardo; Passlack, Bero, Sissoko, Krauss, Wittek; Masouras, Hofmann
We say: Bayern Munich 5-0 VfL Bochum
Bayern have been rampant in front of goal this campaign, and they will be confident of boosting their tally significantly on Saturday.
Though Bochum have proven somewhat more resilient of late, it would be surprising if they managed to upset the league leaders away from home.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
