With the German Bundesliga not restarting until next weekend, Bayern Munich have opted to face Red Bull Salzburg in a friendly match on Friday.
The game will be played at Bayern's training campus, which is where their Under-17s, Under-19s, women's and girl's teams all play.
Match preview
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Given that they were in the midst of a 10-match winning streak, the World Cup-enforced break in November may have come at a bad time for Bayern, who had recovered brilliantly from making an uncharacteristically slow start to the campaign.
Indeed, the Bavarians picked up just seven points from a run of six league games between late August and early October, leaving them with plenty of work to do in terms of chasing down the likes of Union Berlin and Freiburg at the top of the Bundesliga table.
However, the cream always tends to rise to the top and in this case that old chestnut has proven to be the case once more, with Julian Nagelsmann's side reasserting their domestic dominance by moving four points clear at the summit, as well as easing themselves into the knockout stages of the Champions League with six wins from six matches.
A tantalising double-header against Paris Saint-Germain awaits them in the last 16, while they also face Mainz 05 away from home later this month in the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal, which they will be aiming to win for the first time in three seasons.
Next Friday's tricky trip to RB Leipzig will be the German champions' first competitive match in more than two months, so it is little surprise that Nagelsmann has arranged a friendly match against high-quality opposition in order to gain some crucial match fitness.
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Salzburg, meanwhile, whose run of nine successive Austrian Bundesliga titles is only one short of Bayern's ongoing streak, do not return to competitive action until facing Sturm Graz in the Austrian Cup on February 3.
Austria always take an extended winter break due to adverse weather conditions, although it is obviously a prolonged one this season due to the recent World Cup in Qatar.
Like their forthcoming opponents, Die Roten Bullen were in excellent form when the domestic season was paused, winning five of their previous six league games to move six points ahead of Sturm Graz, who were the only side to take a point from them during that run of games.
Although Matthias Jaissle's side fell short of reaching the Champions League knockout rounds for the second successive season, they did manage to pip Dinamo Zagreb to third spot in Group E, setting up a fascinating encounter against Jose Mourinho's Roma in the Europa League round-of-32.
Friday's trip to Munich is one of four friendlies which Salzburg will play between now and their aforementioned quarter-final clash against Sturm Graz at the beginning of next month, with Jaissle hoping to build momentum against Bayern, Sparta Prague, Karlsruher and Slovan Bratislava ahead of their season's resumption.
Team News
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Bayern have lost Lucas Hernandez and Manuel Neuer to season-ending injuries during the break, with Hernandez rupturing his cruciate ligament during France's World Cup opener against Australia, and Neuer breaking his leg in a freak accident while skiing.
Sadio Mane missed out on competing for Senegal in Qatar due to a serious fibula injury, which is likely to keep the former Liverpool forward out of action for another month, while Leon Goretzka, Noussair Mazraoui and Bouna Sarr are all expected to join him on the sidelines for a few more weeks.
Otherwise, Nagelsmann may look to name a strong starting XI ahead of his side's trip to Leipzig, as he attempts to restore some fluidity and rhythm after a long time out of action for him and the majority of his players.
One man who will certainly be hoping to be involved is Daley Blind, who has made a surprise move from Ajax on a free transfer after starring for the Netherlands at the World Cup.
Salzburg, meanwhile, could travel without Andreas Ulmer, Oumar Solet, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Nicolas Capaldo, Fernando, Ousmane Diakite, Justin Omeregie, Dijon Kameri and Samson Tijani, who are all doubts due to various injury issues.
With three weeks separating Friday's friendly and their next competitive clash, there is far less need for Jaissle to risk any players who may be carrying knocks than his forthcoming counterpart.
Maximilian Wober will no longer be a part of Salzburg's plans having linked up with his former boss Jesse Marsch at Leeds United in recent weeks.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Ulrich; Pavard, De Ligt, Upamecano, Davies; Kimmich, Sabitzer; Gnabry, Musiala, Sane; Choupo-Moting
Red Bull Salzburg possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Dedic, Onguene, Pavlovic, Guindo; Seiwald, Kjaergaard, Sucic; Okafor, Sesko, Adamu
We say: Bayern Munich 4-2 Red Bull Salzburg
With nothing riding on this fixture, we can envisage a hugely entertaining friendly between two teams who enjoy playing on the front foot.
Salzburg undoubtedly carry significant offensive threat to hurt Bayern in transition, but the Bavarians should have more than enough about them to earn a win ahead of facing Leipzig in the Bundesliga next week.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
