He said at a press conference: "We need to start picking up points now and obviously have to win tomorrow. Ideally, we will have caught up a few points on the sides above us by Christmas."

Kovac will be without Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman for the match against Dusseldorf, while Joshua Kimmich has picked up a knock, but Arjen Robben could return.

The Croatian insists his side can win and said they could take inspiration from their first-half performance against Dortmund.

"We need to show the same passion against Dusseldorf as we did in the first half in Dortmund," he said.

"I expect that of my players. If we can do that, we will win the game."

Dusseldorf won 4-1 in their last match against Hertha Berlin but sit second bottom in the table with just eight points from their 11 matches.

Head coach Friedhelm Funkel said his team would not give up without a fight when they travel to Munich, adding that the last few weeks have demonstrated that smaller sides can score against Bayern.

Funkel added: "The team will do everything in their power to deliver a good game.

"Of course, everything has to be right so we can take something away with us."

Dusseldorf sit one point from safety having won two games all season.

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