Top-of-the-table Bayern Munich will be looking to continue their blistering form of late when they welcome Hoffenheim to the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
The hosts have returned from the international break with two devastating displays in the last week, whilst the visitors put in a scintillating display of their own last time out.
Match preview
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Defeat at home to Eintracht Frankfurt prior to the international break has quickly been forgotten about in Munich, with two huge victories being achieved since returning.
First, they demolished Bayer Leverkusen in their own stadium last weekend by winning 5-1 against Die Werkself, who were level on points with Bayern in second place at the time.
Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry each scored braces in the first half, with Thomas Muller also getting in on the act to see the Bavarians take an incredible 5-0 lead into half time at the BayArena.
With their hosts starting the season exceptionally, and Bayern wobbling against Frankfurt two weeks before, Julian Nagelsmann's side certainly silenced any doubters who could potentially question their dominance of the Bundesliga this campaign.
Die Bayern followed up one huge victory with another in midweek, when they rallied late on to comfortably beat a strong Benfica side 4-0 in Lisbon.
Their Portuguese opponents had humiliated Barcelona on the previous Champions League matchday, but after being frustrated for much of the encounter, Bayern finally found the breakthrough in the 70th minute through Leroy Sane, who netted his second of the game late on after an own goal and another Lewandowski strike had followed his opener.
Nagelsmann now prepares to face one of his former sides, and one that has caused two upsets against Bayern in the last couple of years, so he will be keen to ensure another is avoided after being beaten in their last Bundesliga match played at the Allianz Arena.
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Meanwhile, after a fairly slow start to the campaign, Hoffenheim have picked up either side of the break, with two impressive home victories in three matches lifting them into ninth place in the Bundesliga table heading into the weekend.
A 3-1 success over European-hopefuls Wolfsburg put an end to four games without a win last month, and despite falling to Stuttgart immediately before the break, they bounced back last weekend with a resounding 5-0 victory over FC Koln.
The front two of Ihlas Bebou and Andrej Kramaric were on top form for Die Kraichgauer, with the former netting a brace to record his first goals of the season, and the latter recording a brace of assists to take his tally to a joint league-high of six for the campaign.
However, away from home is the main cause for concern for manager Sebastian Hoeness, with his side picking up just four points from a possible 12 on offer away from the PreZero Arena as things stand.
The opening weekend hammering at Augsburg has been followed by defeats at Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart, which were either side of a goalless draw at the struggling Arminia Bielefeld.
With there being no tougher venue to visit in the Bundesliga than the Allianz Arena, Hoeness will not expect that away form to improve on Saturday, despite the recent successes over the Bavarians as mentioned above.
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Team News
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After being replaced shortly before half time in the victory at Leverkusen last week, full-back Alphonso Davies missed the Champions League win in midweek due to a thigh injury, and he may not be risked again here.
Leon Goretzka also missed the trip to Portugal after not playing the second 45 last weekend as well, with a bout of illness keeping the German midfielder out recently.
He may not be risked as well, which could see Marcel Sabitzer retain his place alongside Joshua Kimmich in the centre of midfield, whilst Lucas Hernandez will once again shuffle across to full-back in the place of Davies, should the Canadian miss out once more.
As for the visitors, Pavel Kaderabek's injury picked up in the win against Koln last time out was the only negative to take away from that match.
On-loan Bayern defender Chris Richards is likely to come into the side in his place, who will also be missing fellow defenders Ermin Bicakcic and Benjamin Hubner once more.
Young midfielder Marco John is the only other absentee, which means the introduction of Richards is likely to be the only change after a comprehensive display last weekend.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Pavard, Sule, Upamecano, Hernandez; Kimmich, Sabitzer; Gnabry, Muller, Sane; Lewandowski
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Posch, Grillitsch, Richards; Akpoguma, Samassekou, Geiger, Raum; Baumgartner; Bebou, Kramaric
We say: Bayern Munich 4-1 Hoffenheim
The devastating form of Bayern heading into this one means a big home win will be expected by most on Saturday, with very few sides being able to stop the reigning champions when they are in this kind of mood.
Although their style of play under Nagelsmann may see them concede chances to Hoffenheim, they will be expected to outscore their opponents with the likes of Lewandowski, Sane and Gnabry leading the attack.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bayern Munich win with a probability of 75.94%. A draw had a probability of 13.6% and a win for Hoffenheim had a probability of 10.45%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayern Munich win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.25%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-1 (8.23%) and 2-0 (7.67%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (5.51%), while for a Hoffenheim win it was 1-2 (2.96%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 5.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bayern Munich would win this match.
