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Bayern Munich: Five things to watch for against VfL Bochum

By Daniel Garza

Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller will be looking to extend his incredible form against Bochum. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller will be looking to extend his incredible form against Bochum. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) /
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Bayern Munich will look to extend their current Bundesliga winning streak to four matches on Saturday as they face VfL Bochum. Following a thrilling 3-2 victory against RB Leipzig, Bayern has extended their lead at the top of the league table to nine points. A victory on Saturday puts them a step closer to winning another Bundesliga title. Here are five things to watch for ahead of the Matchday 22 fixture.

Goalkeeping change

With Manuel Neuer currently out of the lineup, Sven Ulrich will be the likely candidate to step in and occupy the starting goalkeeper role. Ulrich has made one Bundesliga appearance this season which was in the 2-1 defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach on Matchday 18. Saturday would be just his second appearance in the Bundesliga this season.

It will be interesting to see if Bochum is able to register many scoring opportunities to test Bayern who will be without their star goalkeeper. Bochum enter this weekend’s fixtures ranked 17th in the Bundesliga in goals scored with 20 goals and are 14th in the league in shots recorded. They recorded six shots against Bayern in their first meeting of the season which finished as a 7-0 victory for Bayern.

Robert Lewandowksi nearing 25 goals

Lewandowski has recorded 24 goals in 21 Bundesliga appearances so far this season. On Saturday, he can become the first player in the league this season to reach the 25 goals scored mark. The striker has scored in five of his last six Bundesliga appearances and registered a goal the last time Bayern faced Bochum.

Sebastian Polter leading the way for Bochum offensively

Polter has been Bochum’s top scorer so far this season with seven goals in 20 Bundesliga appearances. He scored last week against Hertha Berlin and has also recorded goals this season against current top five clubs Borussia Dortmund and Freiburg. He certainly will be one of the Bochum players who could have an impact on the outcome of the match.

Bayern closing in on 70 league goals scored this season

Having scored 68 goals so far this season in the Bundesliga, Bayern is well on pace to record over 100 goals in the current campaign. On Saturday, they have the opportunity to surpass the 70 goal mark and move closer to registering 100 or more goals scored in a single Bundesliga season for the second time in the last three seasons.

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Thomas Muller’s incredible season

Muller continues to have an incredible season for Bayern. In his last six league appearances, Muller has produced three goals and five assists. He’s scored in two consecutive matches and is closing in on the ten-goal mark with seven Bundesliga goals recorded this season. In Bayern’s first match against Bochum earlier this season, Muller registered an assist.