Bayern Munich will be hoping to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach in their last Bundesliga outing when they host Werder Bremen on Saturday.
The reigning German champions find themselves seventh in the table and seven points adrift of league leaders Gladbach following that defeat, and will be keen to make amends with a convincing win over Bremen.
Match preview
© Reuters
Bayern's Bundesliga title defence has not gone as planned thus far, with Gladbach seven points and six places ahead of them at the top of the league standings.
Three defeats in their last five league games have turned a stuttering campaign into a full-blown crisis, with the back-to-back wins under interim manager Hansi Flick following Niko Kovac's sacking proving something of a false dawn.
Bayern are the league's second-highest scorers behind RB Leipzig, but have a poorer defensive record than all of the six teams above them in the table and the second-worst in the top 10, ahead of only Hoffenheim.
Long-term injuries to key defenders Niklas Sule and Lucas Hernandez have not helped this cause and, coupled with the sale of Mats Hummels back to Borussia Dortmund, the squad is light on central defensive options.
There has been more cause for optimism for Bayern in Europe, however, as the Bavarian giants progressed from their Champions League group with a 100% win ratio for the first time in their history.
Despite their domestic struggles, Bayern are still a daunting opponent for a struggling Werder Bremen side that have managed just three league wins this campaign.
Bremen are 14th, just two points clear of the relegation playoff place and only six off the foot of the table as they endure a difficult fight to retain their top-flight status.
Only one win from their last five games is a poor return for Florian Kohfeldt's side and improvement is needed from a side that have shipped 29 goals in just 14 games - only Mainz 05 have a worse record of the teams outside the relegation zone.
Bayern Munich Bundesliga form: WLWWLL
Bayern Munich form (all competitions): WWWLLW
Werder Bremen Bundesliga form: DDLLWL
Werder Bremen form (all competitions): WDLLWL
Team News
© ReutersBayern interim boss Flick has a lengthy injury list to contend with that has contributed to the side's sub-par season.
Along with Sule and Hernandez, Fiete Arp, Kingsley Coman and Mickael Cuisance are all sidelined due to injury.
Corentin Tolisso is also a doubt, while Javi Martinez is suspended.
Werder manager Kohfeldt has a lengthy injury list of his own to contend with, as Claudio Pizarro, Stefanos Kapino, Fin Bartels and Sebastian Langkamp are all among those sidelined.
Omer Toprak, Kevin Mohwald and Niclas Fullkrug are all long-term absentees.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Kimmich, Pavard, Alaba, Davies; Goretzka, Thiago; Muller, Coutinho, Gnabry; Lewandowski
Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Pavlenka; Gebre Selasie, Veljkovic, Moisander, Augustinsson; Eggestein, Bargfrede, Klaassen; Bittencourt, Osako, Rashica
We say: Bayern Munich 2-1 Werder Bremen
Bayern's domestic struggles may make this a closer contest than it ought to be, but the reigning champions should still have far too much for Bremen and will expect to return to winning ways in the Bundesliga.
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