Preview: Bayern Munich vs. Hamburger SV

Bayern Munich continue their campaign for another Bundesliga title when they entertain Hamburger SV at the Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon.

After starting the second half of the season with a defeat and a draw, Bayern returned to winning ways last weekend by beating Stuttgart 2-0 thanks to goals from Arjen Robben and David Alaba.

It was a result which didn't come as a surprise to anyone, but Pep Guardiola would have been delighted to see his side pick up all three points after letting their standards slip twice in the space of the week.

Bayern head into this weekend's match with an eight-point lead at the top of the table, and that advantage could persuade Guardiola to rest a few key players against Josef Zinnbauer's side.

The first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie against Shakhtar Donetsk awaits Bayern on Tuesday, which means that the likes of Robben, Xabi Alonso and Thomas Muller could start on the bench as Guardiola looks to keep his squad fresh.

However, the Bayern boss will be wary of taking Saturday's test too lightly following Hamburg's recent form in their battle to pull away from the relegation zone.

Zinnbauer's side made it successive victories for the first time this season by claiming a 2-1 win over Hannover, and they could climb into the top half of the table with a shock triumph in Bavaria.

There are doubts over the fitness of Heiko Westermann and Rafael van der Vaart, but the latter is expected to be fit enough to captain the side against the champions.

Bayern Munich:

Recent form: WWWLDW

Possible starting lineup: Neuer, Benatia, Alaba, Dante, Bernat, Weiser, Schweinsteiger, Badstuber, Gotze, Rode, Lewandowski

Hamburger SV:

Recent form: DLDLWW

Possible starting lineup: Drobny, Ronny, Djourou, Gotz, Rajkovic, Diaz, Stieber, Muller, Jansen, Van der Vaart, Olic

Sports Mole says: 2-0