Bayern Munich can wrap up the Bundesliga title this weekend as they prepare to welcome Borussia Monchengladbach to the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening.
Monchengladbach are holding on to the fourth and final Champions League spot and will be looking to recover from a disappointing defeat to Freiburg last time out.
Match preview
© Reuters
Most football fans could have guessed that the Bundesliga crown would have been won and lost in Der Klassiker, and Bayern now look all but set to secure an eighth title on the bounce following another dominant campaign.
The Bavarian giants have opened up a seven-point gap between themselves and second-placed Borussia Dortmund, and Hansi Flick also witnessed his side advance to the DFB-Pokal final as Bayern overcame Eintracht Frankfurt in a hard-fought semi-final victory on Wednesday evening.
Flick's men will now prepare to take on Bayer Leverkusen in the final - a team which they swept aside comfortably last weekend in the league with a 4-2 victory at the BayArena.
That victory was Bayern's ninth on the bounce in the German top flight, and the champions-elect have now chalked up a staggering 90 goals during the 2019-20 campaign.
Dortmund can reduce the gap to four points with a victory against Fortuna Dusseldorf earlier in the day, but should Lucien Favre's side lose to the relegation candidates, Bayern will be crowned champions if they overcome Monchengladbach a few hours later.
© Reuters
In contrast, Monchengladbach's dreams of Champions League qualification suffered a bitter blow as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat against fellow European hopefuls Freiburg last Friday.
Nevertheless, Marco Rose's side remain fourth on goal difference ahead of Leverkusen - and they have Bayern to thank for that following Leverkusen's recent defeat to the runaway leaders.
Monchengladbach's form since the restart has been far from ideal, though, as they have only won one out of their last four in the Bundesliga, with that victory coming against Union Berlin two weeks ago.
As things stand, Rose's men are three points behind third-placed RB Leipzig, who will kick off the next round of fixtures against Hoffenheim on Friday.
Monchengladbach have the chance to move level on points with Leipzig this weekend, but Julian Nagelsmann's side boast a far superior goal difference as the fight for Champions League football hots up.
Bayern Munich Bundesliga form: WWWWWW
Bayern Munich form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Borussia Monchengladbach Bundesliga form: WWLDWL
Team News
© Reuters
Serge Gnabry missed out Bayern's cup victory in midweek with a bruised back, and it remains to be seen whether the 24-year-old will be passed fit for the visit of Monchengladbach.
Bayern will already have to do without Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, both of whom are suspended for this fixture having picked up bookings last weekend.
Gnabry's potential absence opens up a spot for Ivan Perisic to start out wide, while the young Joshua Zirkzee could be given a chance to lead the line for Bayern.
Monchengladbach have also suffered losses in the attacking department following Alassane Plea's red card in the defeat to Freiburg.
However, Breel Embolo is an option for Rose after the forward made his return to training, while Raffael has also overcome a minor ankle problem.
Denis Zakaria, Fabian Johnson and Tobias Strobl all remain on the treatment table for Monchengladbach.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Pavard, Boateng, Alaba, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Perisic, Thiago, Coman; Zirkzee
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Lainer, Ginter, Elvedi, Bensebaini; Hofmann, Neuhaus; Herrmann, Stindl, Thuram; Embolo
We say: Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
Bayern's dominance of the Bundesliga scene is showing no signs of letting up anytime soon, but they will be without some of their big-hitters for the visit of Monchengladbach. We are still backing Flick's men to get the job done, but the away side are certainly not to be underestimated.
