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Bayern Munich: Five things to watch for against Wolfsburg

By Daniel Garza

STUTTGART, GERMANY - DECEMBER 14: Robert Lewandowski of FC Bayern Muenchen in action during the Bundesliga match between VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern München at Mercedes-Benz Arena on December 14, 2021 in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
STUTTGART, GERMANY - DECEMBER 14: Robert Lewandowski of FC Bayern Muenchen in action during the Bundesliga match between VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern München at Mercedes-Benz Arena on December 14, 2021 in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) /
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Bayern Munich hosts Wolfsburg on Matchday 17 of the 2021/22 Bundesliga season. This fixture will be Bayern’s last match before the winter break commences. Having won their last four league fixtures, Die Roten will be looking to exit 2021 on a five-game winning streak. Here are five things to watch for ahead of Friday’s match.

Robert Lewandowski closing in on record

Lewandowski is just one goal away from setting a new record for most Bundesliga goals scored in a calendar year. He tied Gerd Muller’s record of 42 goals on Tuesday and now the Bayern striker is on the verge of setting a new record with a goal against Wolfsburg. It could be another special moment for Lewandowski in his career at Bayern when all is said and done on Friday.

The current league leader in goal scoring has scored 19 goals in 16 appearances against Wolfsburg since joining Bayern. In his last five appearances against Wolfsburg, he’s scored seven goals. Having already scored 18 goals this season in the German top-flight he should be the main factor in this latest meeting with Wolfsburg and more goals are expected from Lewandowski.

Struggling Wolfsburg

It’s been a rough last few weeks for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. They have lost their last four matches and are falling further behind in the race for the European places. If they are defeated by Bayern on Friday then they will enter the winter break on a five-match losing streak which would be their longest losing streak of the season to date.

Having conceded three goals in three of those last four defeats, it’s not looking good for the Wolfsburg backline entering this fixture. Bayern has already scored 52 goals in the Bundesliga this season and registered five goals against Stuttgart on Tuesday. It could be another goal-filled night for Bayern if the Wolfsburg backline has a repeat performance on Friday.

Another opportunity for Marc Roca?

After a stellar showing against Stuttgart on Tuesday, Roca could once again find himself in the starting 11. With Bayern still dealing with injuries in the midfield entering this match, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Roca make another appearance as Julian Naglesmann was very pleased with his performance against Stuttgart. Another strong showing by the midfielder could bolster his opportunities for more appearances in the second half of the Bundesliga season.

Bayern look to extend their winning streak against Wolfsburg

Bayern has won seven consecutive matches against Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. The last time Wolfsburg was able to earn at least a point against Bayern was in 2017 when they held Die Roten to a 2-2 draw. Since then, it’s been a matchup dominated by Bayern with Wolfsburg scoring just five goals against Die Roten in their last seven meetings. Bayern has averaged just over three goals per match during this seven-match winning streak against Wolfsburg with 22 goals recorded.

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Serge Gnabry is one goal away from ten goals scored

After his hat-trick performance against Stuttgart, Gnabry needs just one more goal to reach ten goals scored in the current Bundesliga campaign. This would be the seventh time in Gnabry’s career he has reached double-digit goal-scoring numbers in the German top-flight and the fourth time he has done so for Bayern.