Bayern Munich will be looking to record their fifth Bundesliga victory in a row when they resume their 2021-22 campaign away to struggling Augsburg on Friday night.
Julian Nagelsmann's side are currently top of the table, four points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, while Augsburg occupy 16th, having picked up just nine points from their opening 11 games.
Match preview
© Reuters
Augsburg finished 13th in the Bundesliga last season, just three points clear of 16th position, and it does appear that it could be another tough campaign for the club, as they battle to stay in the division.
Indeed, a record of two wins, three draws and six defeats from 11 matches has brought them nine points, which is only enough for 16th at this stage, while they have only scored nine times in the league this term, which is the third-worst record behind Arminia Bielefeld and Greuther Furth.
Augsburg recorded a standout 4-1 victory over Stuttgart in their last home game at the end of October but entered the international break off the back of a 1-0 loss at Wolfsburg on November 6.
Markus Weinzierl's side have actually won just one of their last six Bundesliga matches, suffering four defeats in the process, and they will be wary of being on the end of a heavy loss to Bayern on Friday night.
Augsburg have lost their last three matches with the reigning Bundesliga champions, including a 5-2 defeat when the two teams last locked horns back in May.
© Reuters
Bayern, meanwhile, recorded a 2-1 victory over Freiburg before the international break, with Leon Goretzka and Robert Lewandowski on the scoresheet for the hosts at Allianz Arena.
The German champions have won each of their four league matches since a shock 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt at the start of October, including a 5-2 success at Union Berlin in their last away match.
A record of nine wins, one draw and one defeat from 11 matches has seen Bayern collect 28 points, which has left them at the summit, four points clear of second-placed Dortmund.
Nagelsmann's team suffered a shock 5-0 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach in the German Cup at the end of October but have already booked their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League, winning all four of their Group E fixtures to sit six points clear of second-placed Barcelona.
Der FCB, as expected, have been full of goals this season, in both Europe and the league, already netting 40 times in the Bundesliga, with Lewandowski managing 13 to lead the goalscoring chart.
- L
- L
- D
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Augsburg will definitely be without the services of Tobias Strobl and Noah Sarenren Bazee on Friday though injury, while Fredrik Jensen, Reece Oxford, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, Florian Niederlechner, Iago, Felix Uduokhai and Alfred Finnbogason will all face late fitness tests.
Gouweleeuw, Oxford and Niederlechner are expected to overcome their knocks in time for the contest, though, with the latter set to lead the line.
Niederlechner is Augsburg's leading goalscorer in the league this season with three, and the 31-year-old is likely to be given the nod over Andi Zeqiri for this contest.
As for Bayern, Sven Ulreich is out with a knee problem, while Niklas Sule will be absent, having tested positive for coronavirus.
Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting had to quarantine after Sule's positive test was confirmed, but all four players are expected to be available for this match, while Goretzka should be fit despite suffering a knock on international duty.
Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane and Thomas Muller are once again expected to operate behind Lewandowski, while Corentin Tolisso is on standby to feature in midfield if Goretzka does not make it.
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Gumny, Gouweleeuw, Oxford, Pedersen; Hahn, Vargas, Maier, Gruezo, Caligiuri; Niederlechner
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Pavard, Upamecano, Hernandez, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Coman, Muller, Sane; Lewandowski
We say: Augsburg 0-2 Bayern Munich
It is always difficult to know exactly what to expect from matches immediately after an international break, but we are finding it tough to back against Bayern here. Augsburg have struggled for form this season, and we are backing the German champions to triumph in relatively routine fashion.
Top tip
Matt Law
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 75.2%. A draw had a probability of 14.7% and a win for Augsburg had a probability of 10.09%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayern Munich win was 0-2 with a probability of 9.9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.97%) and 0-3 (8.91%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.64%), while for an Augsburg win it was 2-1 (3.01%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 3% likelihood.
