Bayern Munich: Three things to watch for in trip to Mainz

Bayern Munich has the opportunity to clinch a ninth consecutive Bundesliga title on Saturday as they travel to Mainz. The Bundesliga leaders can claim the title on Matchday 31 with a victory, or if they lose or draw against Mainz and RB Leipzig lose, then the title will also be clinched.

Although Mainz is in the bottom half of the table, it won’t be an easy match for Die Roten to record all three points as the hosts are unbeaten in their last six league fixtures. Here are three things to watch for ahead of Saturday’s match.

The possible return of Robert Lewandowski

After returning to team training this week, Lewandowski appears he could make his return against Mainz. The Bayern striker has been out of the lineup since suffering an injury during the March international schedule.

If he does indeed return to the pitch against Mainz, Lewandowski will certainly be looking to register goals as Gerd Muller’s record is still within reach with four matches remaining. He scored a brace the last time these two clubs met in January. Hopefully, Lewandowski will be back in the lineup for this match and will be able to add to his 35 goals in the Bundesliga this season.

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Another start for Jamal Musiala?

Musiala has been a part of the starting 11 in Bayern’s last two fixtures. The 18-year-old has been impressive in both of these appearances which included a two-goal performance last Saturday against Wolfsburg.

It will be interesting to see if he gets another start as he certainly has been one of the top performers for Rekordmeister over the course of the last week. Whenever Musiala has been called up this season, he has managed to come up with big performances. After his solid performances in the last two games, the teenager deserves to get a start on Saturday.  He could continue to add to his record-setting season goal total against Mainz.

Title within reach

A victory against Mainz would give Die Roten the Bundesliga title. Die Roten’s impressive consistency in recent weeks has paved the way to set up this scenario on Saturday. After losing to Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 22, Bayern has gone on to win seven of their last eight Bundesliga matches.

The winning run from Die Roten has set a pace at the top of the table that Leipzig have struggled to keep up with as they have faltered in their last two matches. If Die Roten does indeed claim the title on Saturday, it will be a testament to another campaign of superb consistency in the German top flight. There’s no question they are the deserving winners.