Bayern Munich are enjoying another productive week this season. After clinching the Bundesliga title last weekend, Bayern sealed a spot in the DFB Pokal final by beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in the semi-final on Wednesday. The Bavarian club will look to build momentum ahead of next week’s first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain by delivering a good performance against Mainz in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
After sealing the league title, Bayern are looking to break the record for the most goals in a league campaign across Europe’s top five leagues. They need to score 16 goals in the final four games of the season to set a new record of scoring 126 goals in a single league campaign.
Meanwhile, Mainz are looking to finish in the top half of the league. They are currently tenth with 34 points. With four games to go, qualifying for Europe is practically not possible for Mainz. The priority will be to finish the season as strongly as possible, but getting a win on Saturday will take a tremendous effort from the team against the Bundesliga champions.
Team News
Bayern have no fresh injury issues for the game against Mainz. Serge Gnabry confirmed on social media earlier this week that he will miss the World Cup due to injury. The German forward will need three to four months to recover from this injury setback.
Lennart Karl, Sven Ulreich, and Tom Bischof are in the advanced stages of their recoveries from respective injuries. They are training on the pitch at Sabner Strasse, but the game against Mainz comes too soon for the trio.
Predicted Starting XI
With the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain around the corner, Vincent Kompany will heavily rotate his team on Saturday. In the goal, Jonas Urbig will get another opportunity as Manuel Neuer gets rested for next week’s game against the defending European champions.
Kim Min-jae and Hiroki Ito will slot in the heart of the defense, giving rest to Jonathan Tah and Dayot Upamecano. Alphonso Davies will continue in the left back position as he looks to build rhythm before the big Champions League games. Konrad Laimer will continue in the right-back position on Saturday.
Leon Goretzka will start in the center of the park for Bayern on Saturday. The German midfielder will play alongside Aleksandar Pavlovic in midfield, allowing Kompany to give much-needed rest to Joshua Kimmich.
Luis Diaz will start on the left wing against Mainz, while Nicolas Jackson will lead the attack. Jamal Musiala is slowly getting back to his best, so it will be crucial for him to get more game time on Saturday. With Gnabry and Karl injured, Michael Olise will have to play on the right flank against Mainz.
Predicted Starting XI: Urbig; Davies, Kim Min-jae, Ito, Laimer; Goretzka, Pavlovic; Diaz, Musiala, Olise; Jackson
Score Prediction
Mainz 1-4 Bayern Munich
Bayern have been scoring for fun in the last few weeks. Despite several changes, this scoring trend is likely to continue on Saturday. Since Die Roten have also conceded a lot of goals over the last month, expect Mainz to get a consolation goal.
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