Bayern Munich need a convincing win against Fortuna Dusseldorf
Bayern Munich are set to host Fortuna Dusseldorf at the Allianz Arena in a must-win Bundesliga match on Saturday.
The Bundesliga returns to action this weekend after a long international break. Bayern Munich will host Fortuna Dusseldorf tomorrow in their 12th game of the Bundesliga season. The Bavarians need a convincing win in this game to build some good form heading into the winter break.
Bayern suffered a painful 3-2 defeat in Der Klassiker two weeks ago, just before the international break. The defending champions slipped to fifth in the German top flight and are now seven points off league leaders Borussia Dortmund. Niko Kovac was satisfied with his side’s performance against Dortmund, but he will be hoping that his players start a winning run in order to climb the table and regain the top position.
On the other hand, things are looking quite bleak for Fortuna Dusseldorf in the Bundesliga. The visitors are 17th in the table; only a slightly better goal difference has kept them ahead of VfB Stuttgart. Dusseldorf’s season can get a big push if they manage a positive result against Bayern on Saturday.
Team News
Bayern were able to escape this past international break without any significant injuries to their major players. Robert Lewandowski couldn’t feature in Poland’s game against Portugal due to a minor knock, but he will be fit for tomorrow’s game. Niko Kovac will make a late call on Arjen Robben, though, as the Dutchman is still recovering from a minor knock.
Kingsley Coman and Thiago Alcantara are back in training, but this game comes too soon for the duo. James Rodriguez suffered a serious injury in training during the international break and will likely be absent for the rest of 2018. Corentin Tolisso is the other long-term absentee for Bayern Munich.
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Predicted XI
Niko Kovac is likely to pick his strongest starting lineup as his team desperately needs a win in this game. Manuel Neuer has struggled to keep many clean sheets this season, but he still remains an indispensable part of the first team. Jerome Boateng got a nice rest during the international break, so he will start in the heart of defense along with Niklas Sule. David Alaba and Joshua Kimmich will start in the full-back positions on Saturday.
Javi Martinez didn’t feature for Spain during the international break, but he will likely start against Dusseldorf in the holding midfield role. Renato Sanches will partner Martinez in the center of the park. The young midfielder will be eager to impress Kovac after an impressive performance for Portugal this week.
Thomas Muller will play in attacking midfield position in the absence of James. Serge Gnabry had a memorable international break, putting in two excellent performances with the German national team. The young forward was impressive in Bayern’s last two games and will be looking to maintain this form on Saturday. He will play on the right side of attack while Franck Ribery will occupy the left flank. Robert Lewandowski will lead the line for the rekordmeister.
"NeuerKimmich-Sule-Boateng-AlabaMartinez-SanchesGnabry-Muller-RiberyLewandowski"
Opposition Focus
Dusseldorf have been struggling after gaining promotion to the German top flight this season. They have conceded the most number of goals in the league till now. It will be a huge task for the visitors to keep a clean sheet against Bayern on Saturday.
Bayern Munich have struggled defensively this season as well, however. Dusseldorf will surely have chances to score against the hosts, as Bayern play a very high line of defense. The Bavarians need to be wary of some of the young talent in this Dusseldorf squad. Benito Raman is their top scorer in the league, and the Belgian can cause a lot of problems for Bayern’s defense. Matthias Zimmermann is another player to watch out for on Saturday.
Prediction
Bayern Munich 3-0 Fortuna Dusseldorf
Bayern were pretty good in the attacking phase against Borussia Dortmund. I expect them to build on that performance and clinch a convincing win over Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday. The hosts have been leaking goals on a consistent basis, but I think Manuel Neuer will earn his third clean sheet of the season in this game.