Fresh from their Champions League semi-final bout in midweek, Bayern Munich travel to the MHPArena to face Stuttgart in a top-three clash in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon.
Die Roten will be seeking revenge against their Bavarian counterparts after losing 3-0 in the reverse fixture at the Allianz Arena back in September last year.
Match preview
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Twelve months on from narrowly avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga, Stuttgart have secured a top-four finish with three games to spare and have subsequently qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 2009-10.
That is despite Stuttgart failing to win their last two league matches, with a 2-1 loss at Werder Bremen followed by last weekend's 2-2 draw with champions Bayer Leverkusen. Die Roten were two goals in front heading into the final half-hour thanks to strikes from Chris Fuhrich and Deniz Undav, but Amine Adli pulled one back for Leverkusen before Robert Andrich netted a 96th-minute equaliser.
Sebastian Hoeness has worked wonders at Stuttgart since taking the reins just over a year ago and his side can now enjoy their remaining three fixtures without any pressure, although securing a top-three finish for the first time in 15 years would be a great way to end the season.
Achieving that is not a given, though, as in-form RB Leipzig in fourth sit just two points behind Stuttgart, who follow up Saturday's clash against Bayern with encounters against top-seven hopefuls Augsburg and relegation-threatened Borussia Monchengladbach.
Only Leverkusen (42) and Bayern (40) have collected more points on home soil in this season's Bundesliga than Stuttgart (39), who have put together a 10-game unbeaten run at the MHPArena. However, you have to go all the way back to November 2007 for the last time that Die Roten beat Bayern in front of their own fans (3-1).
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Although Bayern have conceded the Bundesliga title to Leverkusen, their hopes of winning a seventh European Cup remain alive after playing out a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.
Leroy Sane and Harry Kane scored in the space of just four second-half minutes to put the Bavarians in front after Vinicius Junior had given Real a first-half lead, but the Brazilian had the last laugh as he converted an 83rd minute penalty to keep the tie in the balance ahead of next week's second leg in Spain.
Thomas Tuchel's side are merely playing for pride in their remaining three Bundesliga fixtures, but a victory against Stuttgart on Saturday would see them surpass their points tally of 71 from last season when they celebrated a 11th successive title on the final day.
Bayern's search for a successor to Tuchel remains ongoing after Austria boss Ralf Rangnick became the latest name after Xabi Alonso and Julian Nagelsmann to turn down the soon-to-be coaching vacancy at the Allianz Arena.
In the meantime, Bayern will endeavour to win their 12th consecutive visit to Stuttgart; only against Werder Bremen (currently 14) have the Bavarians won more top-flight away games in a row against the same opponent.
Bayern have won a total of 69 of their 109 Bundesliga meetings with Stuttgart; no other club in the history of the German top flight has beaten another opponent as many times, so they have reason to be optimistic of success on Saturday.
Team News
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Stuttgart will be without injured quartet Nikolas Nartey (knee), Josha Vagnoman (metatarsal), Dan-Axel Zagadou (knee) and Samuele di Benedetto (broken leg), while Roberto Massimo, who has not featured since the end of January, will have his muscle issue assessed ahead of kickoff.
Maximilian Mittelstadt and Enzo Millot are both suspended after picking up their fifth yellow cards of the season last time out. Hiroki Ito is set to replace Mittelstadt at left-back, while Angelo Stiller - who served a one-match ban last weekend - is available to return and replace Millot in midfield.
Bayern loanee Alexander Nubel is eligible to face his parent club and is set to continue between the sticks, while Serhou Guirassy and Undav, who have scored an impressive 43 goals between them this season, are expected to continue their partnership in attack.
As for Bayern, Kingsley Coman (groin), Sacha Boey (hip), Bouna Sarr (ACL) and Tarek Buchmann (hamstring) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Matthijs de Ligt is unlikely to be risked as he continues to recover from a knee issue.
With one eye on next week's Champions League trip to Real Madrid, Tuchel is expected to rest a number of his key players now that his Bayern side have conceded the title to Leverkusen.
Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies are both in contention to return in defence, and teenage midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic could also be handed a start, while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Mathys Tel and Serge Gnabry may be recalled in attack; Bryan Zaragoza is also in contention for a rare start.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Stergiou, Rouault, Anton, Ito; Leweling, Karazor, Stiller, Fuhrich; Undav, Guirassy
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Kimmich, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Pavlovic, Goretzka; Gnabry, Choupo-Moting, Tel; Kane
We say: Stuttgart 2-2 Bayern Munich
Goals are to be expected on Saturday, as not only do these two teams boast the top two scorers in the division, Kane (35) and Guirassy (25), but they are also the two sides with the highest expected goals (xG) and have created the most big chances in the division - Bayern with 142 chances compared with Stuttgart's 119.
Both teams have little riding on this fixture, but Stuttgart still have some work to do to guarantee a third-placed finish, so with that in mind, we believe that the hosts will earn a hard-fought point from an entertaining score draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
